Nordic Elf Kind
by grayfox11738
Summary: The dragonborn in most of the trailers and what not is always either a nord or some sort of human. I don't see this as right and prefer if it was something different. I wrote this story with that in mind same with a firm mixture of realism and gamer logic just to make everything come together. This is the story of an Altmer Dragonborn thrown into the land of Skyrim.
1. Restraints

**A/N: I have played a good amount of Skyrim and thought through many playthroughs using skills and powers from one end to the next. I have read my share of fanfics of the game it if as well. Most are interesting but never explain much in the way of why the Dragonborn is at the base level of all things. The man or woman is in his late twenties at the least and forties at the most and by that time the only way you can get through life in this world is by some form a labor to make you stronger then you are in the beginning. If your an elf you should know more spells than given or if your an orc getting you bounds undone should be next to child's play. I tried to make this more literal and make sense of the game logic with a mixture of more realism as well. Things you would think you would expect instead of accepting things as is. The greatest Quote I will ever go with it "Why the Fuck not" and for most of my stories this will be the aim for it.**

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 **CH.1: RESTRAINTS**

There was a time when I found that getting thrown into insane misadventures were fun that is until I took on a century as a mortal of high regard. Sometimes I would wake up in different times or different bodies only to find out that I was dreaming all along. To find out that my mind was just regressing to take pressure off of the body like I always wanted to. Maybe I am crazy and haven't lived that long to begin with. Maybe all the memories swimming in my head right now never existed and are only a fragment of my imagination. Maybe just maybe, but the founders of the mind right now do not matter. I had the most throbbing pain ever in the back of my skull, at my ribs, my right upper shoulder, and my left ankle. It all hurt as if I was stomped repeatedly by boots from a berserking orc or something.

When I tried to move my hands I found out quickly that they are bound with no way for me to undo them unless I have a blade of some sort that can cut metal or the key. I opened my eyes to golden tanned skin. I had slightly skinnier wrists than I remembered as well. My clothing if you can call the putrid rags that I have on clothing are nothing but peasant potato sack trousers and a short sleeved shirt thought with how tall my kind are this looked atrocious on me. Who in the nine divine would do this to me and why?

Last I remember I was… there it is, the small memories that help me find out just what and where I am. I know I am in the country of Skyrim the native home of the nords. Cold and harsh this land is known for as well as for its hardy people and primitive culture that revolves around the use of sword and shield, but for some reason I find the way they used it to be close to barbaric. But what else can I expect from the nord? What they have in their resiliency they lost in the area of class in the way they dress and operate. If I could I would melt or smelt these cuffs off of me but sadly I find my magicka to be studded by something. Enchanted cuffs and by the enchant sigil on the side they are of imperial Empire make and origin used on the most dangerous of magicka endowed prisoners and enemies of the state. Why are these cuffs on me to begin with? What have I done to be treated with such disrespect as to be left magicka-less and dressed in these…? Things!

"Hey are you awake?" I looked up from my bindings to the sound of the voice to the face of a nord. It was blurry still, my vision I mean after all I did take a Talos knows what to the head and to my knee. It hurts a lot and I can barely use my most basic of healing spells to fix the damage or at the very least null the pain. Damn cuffs and no pick to get these things open. Even though I haven't picked a lock in a long time I can still manage it, but then again it suddenly became bad luck to do it so I haven't bothered with it.

Sneaking into a cave and picking a lock only for my pick to click when it broke loudly thus causing a nest of vampires behind me to wake up in the middle of the day when they are at their most aggravated too was really bad luck. My magic in the end was depleted from the arsenal of fire spells I had and used to kill most of them. I wasn't even good at fire based destruction magical in the first place because lightning magic is where I have usually kept a good portion of the mana pool free for to combat my enemies. I ran out using magicka I wasn't used to using and in the end I was so sorry for neglecting for so long. I learned my lesson a little I think, because after that incident I learned the most basic of fire spells to torrent a good amount of fire through the palm of my hand out to my fingers. This basic spell has helped me through many instances already from melting my way through a locking mechanism or out of a jail cell. I would do it now if I could and not on a locking mechanism either. I would use it to melt the brains of the man at the head of the carriage then escape out of here though I don't know where I am right now so maybe I should wait until I do exactly. I just know the country you are in is as useful as a spell without magicka to use it.

My vision started to clear up until I could see the faces around me more clearly. I saw a man with messy unruly dark blonde hair that I am surprised I can tell with the mountain of dirt in his locks. A braid was in the front of his head to the left that fall over his ear down to his shoulders. The look in his eyes are bleak and darkened from more than likely at least three or so days without sleep and without stopping. By the looks of his rope like bindings he was as much of a prisoner as I was. Same with the other nords around me that are as bounded as I am. Well, not as much as I am because I am bound in more than one way. I can't feel my mana pool at all, lucky them and smart of such barbarians as well. They put the ropes on the warriors and the cuffs on the elf. Of course such bigotry will be thrown at me in such a way in the land of Skyrim. Even more now with the whole Thalmor and banning of Talos worship in the world. Even myself as one of the more "bulky" ones of my used to be fellow Thalmor are thrown into this until the end and suffer the most innate sort of pressure like this.

"Are you alright." I sneered at the almost worried tone the Nordic man had in his voice. A...Thalmorish sort of sneer if I do say so myself. The nord seemed to be a little but off by my dismissal of his concern not that I really cared all that much, but I have learned from the best the world has to offer on the proper etiquettes on how to treat those that I have yet to meet. It's best to develop a good standing and judgment in the first place.

I leaned myself up a little from my crouched over position. "I could be better." I reached up and touched the beating part of my head for something in regard for the pain on my head.

"Whoa, easy you took quite the hit not too long ago."

A hit is putting it lightly especially on an Altmer like myself. I feels like I took more than just a hit from whoever did this to me. "More like a beating," I grumbled.

"I supposed so, they did pile on top of you and beat you with the fight you put up, damn Imperials." The nord sighed tirelessly then gave me a look of approval for the apparent fight I put up. "Not bad for an elf."

"Not bad?" The next man to talk was to my right and a nord as well just like the rest of the men in the carriages with me. He wasn't as bulky as the blonde man or as exhausted looking as well. Unlike the warrior nord with the blonde hair this one looked to be weaker in not only body but in mind as well. He was shaking and quivering like a coward and so filthy as well. Even more compared to the warrior nord in front of me. I growled and got tired of wallowing in my own ignorance quickly. I hate not knowing anything like where I am, who I am, and what in Akatosh am I doing here. "This damn elf is the reason why we were smacked down so hard in the first place!"

I myself look taken back from such a scandalous admission in the most mock way I could. "Me," I pulled my hands to my chest pointing to it as well. "I did such a thing?" My dense act made the nord growl at me to which I snort lightly at his lack of clasp.

"You killed at least five men and wounded at least ten!"

"Did I?"

"Yes you stupid elf you did! You boiled a man's brains in his skull for Talos' sake!"

"Not to mention the way you fought with a blade. You must be former..."

"Hey, be quiet back there." The carriage driver yelled back to the nords that persisted to raise their voices loud enough to get the attention of Imperial Empire nords around us. I sneered again to the nords around me and went back to my predicament.

"Oy, nord." I called to the blonde one in some sort of uniform armor colored blue at the chest made for the most part our of leather and fur for the atmosphere of Skyrim. The norm rose his head and regarded me with low patience. I rose my hands and showed him my cuffs. "Do you know who has the key to these?" The nord huffed and gestured to his right behind the carriage. I saw a man riding a nag so nothing out of the ordinary. I peered my eyes at the man's body and equipment then saw the pommel of the horseman's sword and the seal on top. "General Tullius," I sighed, "of course."

The highest ranking man in the Empire's Skyrim station. This might not be as easy as I thought it could be sadly. I have long arms and deft hands but when surrounded by at least twenty of so Imperial soldiers and the key I need happens to be one the general himself might make things difficult. If only I could just get these cuffs off but something tells me that isn't happening anytime soon.

"Damn you and you Stormcloaks, Skyrim was fine until you came along. The Empire was nice and lazy. If it wasn't for you I would be half way to Hammerfell with that horse I stole." I snort again which the horse thief noticed. "I shouldn't even be here as for you," the thief glared at me, "you kill men like the rest of your crazy kind do." A horse thief of all things along with Stormcloaks here of all places.

That means this caravan is on its way to one of three places: A court for us to get an unfair trial and then sent to the noose or chop block here in Skyrim, a prison where we will rot for thirty or so days and then get that "fair" trail and then meet the hang man or the chop block, or we could be going straight to the chop block without any trial to speak of to eliminate all of us in one go. I just hope it isn't the latter because I have a chance if we get a trial and if I do get the call to be executed the Thalmor will interfere and kill me themselves by way of magical fire which I prefer over the headman's chock block any day.

Getting killed by a bunch of nords is not the way I plan on dying and will not die if I have a chance. I prefer to die by the way of a savage animal or an inhuman daedra instead at least it will be oblivion's hands that cause my pass instead of normal mortal man. Not sure if you can call it pride or foolishness but in my opinion death should come from those that are greater than you not lesser and I am arrogant enough to say that I am not lesser than anyone around me. Blame being part of the Thalmor for that part of me. They tell you enough propaganda to make you believe that you are the chosen race descended from the Aedra above.

I rolled my neck and felt a click and did it hurt. They must have knocked me on the back of the head once or twice. If I put up as big as a fight as I heard they must have done the Empire thing and starved me for days after they broke my body during the scrap. My body thanks to the ring I have on accelerates my own natural healing factor. I am surprised that they left me my ring then again it is enchanted to returned to me just like the Wabbajack; or so I heard from legends about the Hero of Kvatch who apparently disappeared into the Shivering Isle never to return but the Wabbajack seemed to follow him to oblivion and back, or so the rumor went. I wanted a ring to do that and something practical enough for me to use whenever. Too bad I didn't have the means to use it on my clothing but dealing in soul gems, especially black ones, is tricky and hard to get your hands onto. A ring for body instead of magic, no wonder I had to leave the Order for such heresy. Magic is all after all.

"We are all brother and sisters in binds now thief."

"I said shut up back there!"

The horse thief clicked his tongue at the imperial soldier and turned his attention to the man next to me. "What's with him and the gag?"

"Watch your tongue thief!" The man outburst made me regard the man next to me with a little more curiosity than warrant. He looked to be of sort of noble likeness with the way he dressed despite the fact that it's covered in as much dirt and grime as the Stormcloak nord's. He looked more tired than the Stormcloak nord and his mouth was indeed gagged to prevent him from making any sort of comprehensible words for some reason. "This man is the true High king of Skyrim, Uldric Stormcloak."

I groaned and palmed my face with my hands. The third option it is I suppose. Straight to the block we go, damn it.

"Uldric, the Jarl of Windhelm, leader of the rebellion?" Who else could it be? "If they captured you… Oh gods where are they taking us."

"To the block Nord is it that hard to figure out?" I answered with my face still buried into my hands. "If this man is Uldric Stormcloak we are all going straight to the block you stupid Nordic horse's ataah and if you are confused that means ass."

"The elf is right," the Stormcloak admitted with a look up to the sky. "Where we are going thief, Sonverngard awaits."

"N-no this can't be happening," the thief cried shivering in place. "This can't be happening."

"What village are you from?"

I looked down remembering nothing when it comes to my home at all. I have a life of traveling from one faction to the next, from one town to the next, and from one dangerous adventure to the next always moving and always finding more and more people to put in the circle, that is until I had to run away. Skyrim was the last and only place to escape only for something like this to happen to me. I break my back literally to establish my newest clean slate hoping to get some form of peace and quiet here in brutal, unforgiving Skyrim. I supposedly asked the daedra and Aedra for too much in this case to throw me to the dragons like this. I say dragons because the Empire still uses the mythical dragon as its symbol and try to model themselves as them even though the last of the Septim line died out during the Oblivion Crisis when he became a dragon and pushed the daedric prince of destruction Mehrunes Dagon back into his realm of Oblivion.

Dragons and those descended from them, what a laugh. I can believe the dragons exist having seen the bones of one in the desert of Elsweyr and in Hammerfell, but that is it. Just bones and not much else in the place they rest without the hands of mortal men to touch them. A place they call home. Something I find myself turning dark tan with envy, a place you can call home to which you can always return to in time.

I listened carefully to the horse thief when he was about to answer. "Rorikstead, I'm from Rorikstead." I have never heard of this place before or really cared to right now. I suppose I should with all that is about to happen soon enough. I have, as a High Elf born proudly in Summerset Isle, never had as most could say is a dull life. Never a quiet and easy moment for it was full of traveling, training, bartering, fighting, or just whatever a scholar like me could do. Now that I look back have I ever been worried I would die? Yes, I have after all what mortal does not fear the unknown and death is unknown to us. Even me who has lived on the edge only for it to be taken from me. My body felt so heavy and tired right now and my mind so full scattered thoughts that I knew eventually I will begin slipping soon.

My mind... They performed the annulment on my mind. My mind felt do empty right now with only base memories and thoughts not skills, abilities, or even my spells. I can remember maybe three at the most but those three are ones I have had since birth. Destruction and Restoration. Fire, lightning, and healing but on their most basic level. They had to do it to control and shackle. They annulled my mind taking away every single power and ability that I had along with my physical abilities with how they treated me. I was literally back to square one. I had to be sure though. I had to ask someone.

"Nord," I called to the Stormcloak Nord.

"Elf," he returned in kind making this more and more amusing as well.

"When the Imperials captured me did they have a wizard do anything to me?"

The Nord blinked for a couple minutes and nodded. "Yes they had a wizard with them that had glowing hands."

I bit back a curse and continued on. "Did he touch any part of my body? Any at all?" My heart sank when he shook his head.

"No he just held them toward and you glowed."

"Imperial dogs!" Even the horse rider behind and carriage driver in front of us jumped at my sudden curse on every single one of them. Everything was gone from my mana pools to my stamina it was all taken from me and locked away in the recess of my mind or striped from me fully period. All that work and studying for nothing only for some fool of an Imperial to take away! That which made me the Force of Destruction that I am or was now. Right back to square one as I thought.

"Hey I thought..."

"Quiet DOG!" the carriage driver jumped back out of his seat falling over on top of the horse that way hauling us all. The last thing an Imperial right now should do is bad mouth or talk to me with anything less that the utmost decency for I am absolutely livid right now. A full-bodied act of annulment done on me just for I guess defending myself from an Imperial charge. Or maybe just being in the wrong place at the wrong time but either way I was seeing red and more than willing to melt the first sniveling dog that gets in front of me right now. Even my mana responded to my anger glowing in the palms of my hands turning them red hot like smoldering coals though these cuffs aren't made to pacify magicka for nothing. I could only hold what should be a torrent of flames for a couple seconds, almost a minute, at the most until the redness faded away and I felt more tired than before. Must be the adrenaline beginning to fade away from my body that drained me so harshly. I sighed and slumped my seat.

"What's with him?" The thief asked only to receive silence as an answer from his fellow Nord for one couldn't even tell and the other couldn't even talk. I zoned out the rest of what happened or what was said until we reach a large gate in the distance. I had a bad feeling about this. This ride, this town, and this headsman block that I heard the lookout above mention as we passed the gates. I rubbed the bridge of my nose with my left hand at the mention of the divine by the horse thief and kicked him.

"Ah, damn you elf."

"The Divine do not help horse thieves Nord for that is the domain of Oblivion. Asking the divine right now to aid you might have caused your death to come faster than before now." The horse thief was now spooked and more frightened than before. Nords have always been a little too superstitious for their own good and for good reason as well seeing that with the rumors of ghosts and walking corpses a man starts to believe more in the life after death concept much more than before.

"Look, there." I looked as the Stormcloak Nord had said and saw a man with three of my fellow Altmer behind him. "General Tullius, the governor of the Imperial power here in Skyrim and the Thalmor right behind him as well. Damn elves I wager they had something to do with this. No offense elf."

I snort again. Calling me "elf" and saying "no offense" as well was sort of contradicting but I doubt this man even knows what contradict even means. "Whether or not I take offense matters not Nord for as you said 'Sovngarde awaits'."

"You don't seemed worried about this fact," the Nord commented on to which just looked up the sun and the sky.

"Why worry about the enviable Nord if you know it is going to happen."

"I… I suppose that is true."

I looked around the town not really impressed with the accommodations at all. "Where are we Nord, do you know?"

"This, this is Helgen."

"Helgen?"

"Yes," the Nord said with a quick look around the town as if he was searching for something. "You know I used to be sweet on a girl from here," the Nord began with one of the first stages to up and coming death or demise. "I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in." The Nord adopted a sad smile as his eyes looked back to the growing crowd of people behind us. "Funny," he chuckled, "when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

"Why are you telling me this?" I knew the answer already but I suppose the Nord didn't know himself to which he just blinked and shook his head without answering.

"I like to think that the death of every living being in existence comes in due time." I begin getting the attention of the Nordic men in the carriage with me. "That due time weighs heavily on a few things." I rose my hands the lifted a single finger. "Your karma for one, whether you did good in this world or bad and just who did you do your deed for." I rose a second finger. "How determined you are to survive another day and move on in life." I rose my third and last finger. "And who or what you aligned yourself with in the majority of your time in this plane. Sometimes the gods above and in oblivion call for your death early or bring you up until you reach elder years."

"And what do you believe elf?"

"Hm?"

"Are you determined to survive? Do you wish to live? Have you cleared your "karma" as you said?"

I took a breath and let it fall along with my hands. "I know my time is not yet done and I will not die here. I will survive and kill anything the gets in my way. How about you Nord? Have you resigned yourself to your fate yet?" The Nord went silent as the carriage came to its end.

"This is it," I resounded with a firm grip of my hands.

"No wait please I am not a rebel!" The thief announced on deft ears as we stepped one by one off of the carriage.

"Face your death with some courage thief."

"I agree," I said next jumping off of the wood to now hard stone. My legs felt wobbly and unsteady at best almost forcing me over. I grunted trying to force my body to control itself and be more dignified than this. Slowly my legs responded and I stood to my full height standing over most of the men and women around me. I looked up and saw a Red Guard woman in imperial captain armor awaiting us all too fully dismount but what I noticed the most was the little talk she and the General were having at the moment. I saw a little transition of keys from his hand to her hand and a nod a second later. The General stepped back gesturing over to me for the captain to notice the lone High elf in the group.

"Now step towards the block when we call your name one at a time. Do not try anything for archer as every angle from high to low are trained on to you so run is you thing you will make it but just now an arrow to the back is a slower death than a chop of the head." The woman I will admit had that sort of tough girl thing down and was being intimidating as well, not that I was afraid. The way she eyed me up like a freshly smoked oxen or whatever they eat here in Skyrim is nothing compared to the yellow hate filled gaze of a lich.

A man, another nord, in imperial leather armor walked up with a parchment in hand. He opened it and call, "Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm." The man mumble behind his gag and stepped forward. His Stormcloaks all said their goodbyes. "Ralof of Riverwood." The nord from before stepped forward and walked out to join Ulfric next to the block. "Lokir of Rorikstead."

"No! I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" I sighed and just watched as he made a run for it. "You're not gonna kill me!" The captain rose her hand and a couple archers from the towers above took aim at the horse thief. She let her hand fall and in seconds four arrows pierced the thief's body and he fell. A slow and painful death indeed.

"Now," the Captain turned back to me being the last to be named off. "Anyone else want to run because now's your chance!" I felt the arrows above and below point toward me.

"Wait," the imperial nord said. "You there, step forward." I did as ordered and approached closer to the nord. "Who are you?"

I cleared my throat. "A high elf for one nord."

"I can see that but what is your name elf?" The man was calm and composed surprisingly for a nord and an imperial soldier.

"I have no name currently not that I matters nord."

The man accepted that the looked to the captain. "You are not of the Thalmor Embassy though, are you sure you have no name to speak of high elf?" I shook my head. "Captain what should we do? He is not on the list."

The captain frowned at me and glanced at the block. "Does matter he goes to the block as well."

"As you say… captain." The nord did not agree with this judgment but what can a soldier do other than as he is told. "I am sorry. We will make sure your remains are returned to the Summerset Isle."

"I guess that is something." I moved to the rest of the Stormcloak to the block and watched the key on the captain's belt move with a little jingle.

"Ulfric Stormcloak," General Tullius called as he walked over to the Jarl of Windhelm. "Some may call you a hero but a hero doesn't use a power like the voice to murder his king and usurp his throne. This war you started will end here. The Empire will put you down and restore the peace that you shattered."

 **KRAAHAAH!**

We all heard in the distance. The sound made my skin crawl but more than that is also made the bad feeling turn into a worse feeling. "What was that?" The list reading nord asked looking out toward the mountains.

"Nothing," the general dismissed with a wave. "Carry on Captain."

"As you say General Tullius." That wasn't nothing I know that. I have heard a sound like that before because it was the sound of a roar echoing through the mountains but what I don't know is just what it was that made it. I have seen monsters of all shapes and sizes and heard the roar of so many animals but that one is new to me and I don't like new things. Every fiber of my being was telling me to run right now like a god him or herself was coming down to smite us any minute now but the rules forbid that from happening. I don't know a god that roars too so maybe I am just overreacting.

"Next is the high elf." I blinked and noticed that a body was on the ground at my feet that happened to be a former Stormcloak as well. All eyes rested on me with arrows trained on me but that didn't worry me. The roar from before resonated again in the town but louder and much closer this time. That roar was no animal that I have ever heard before. Not a troll, a werewolf, a tiger, and not even a bear. It sound much more powerful than all of those combined.

"To the block prisoner nice and easy." I looked around with my more advanced sight to the clouds above but saw nothing. I walked slowly to the block as this sound got progressively closer and closer. I looked over to the captain and sneered. "What are you smiling at high elf?"

"You captain," I let my smiled grow. "Because I will make you pay if you touch me."

The captain's eyes flashed with anger as she took me by the shoulders and forced me down to the block. It was around the time that the unthinkable happened.

Helgen was attacked by a dragon.

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 **Short chapter but that's number one of many more to come as long as I have a drive. Got a nice review from someone with some decent points that I've tried to address. I need more though and I'm looking forward to many more to assist me in the creation of this story. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Unbound

**"FOS RO DAH!"**

The dragon roared blasting the tower, the soldiers, and myself down into the ground. I felt like my insides turned to liquid as the red eyes of this demon of what should only be legend bared down at me. Its roar shattered my mind and stopped by heart in seconds forcing me under but I am not sure for how long. Fire the rained from the sky fell on top and around me. I was actually dying by the hands of a dragon of legends. I could feel the last light leave my body and my breath begin to freeze in my chest. I could only see a bury version of the sky and the fires around me almost as if time froze in place. The words of the dragon played in a mind that could no longer function and my body began to shake even though life had left it. I could see the heavens above and all that they could offer. I saw my friends from the Red Guard from the fighters' guild to the Nord from the mages if that makes any sense. I could feel my spirit itself lifting upward to the heavens above and felt… warm. For the first time in my life or un-life I felt warm. Warm but also deceived. This wasn't real, none of it, and I cannot stay in the heavens where I do not belong. I felt still again and then… I fell.

"Hey, high elf. Get up!" I felt the light return to my body and time begin to move again. My vision turned to normal from its blurry state to a more in-focused one. "Come on, get up!" I felt someone shaking me forcing me up into a leaned up position.

"The gods won't give us another chance come on!" I didn't know what was happening at first and followed the nord to wherever he was taking me. I still couldn't breathe but my annulled body was willed to move from the danger into the tower I was dragged into by the Stormcloak Nord Ralof. I fell at the steps in a trip to the stone bashing my leg on the step. It send lightning though my body arcing at every central nerve that was between my shin and my brain. It hurt. Good the pain means that my actual death a second ago was only temporary and I am still here and I am still alive. "Come on elf get. UP!"

I was dragged from my back facing the sight of the dragon destroying Helgen with ease but the most magnificent sight wasn't of the dragon for this discovery made my living a little more enjoyable.

Out of all the bodies ahead of and around me currently the female Red Guard Captain's was not among them. She must have escaped. She must have escaped with her life intact and with the key to my salvation. I looked through the broken wall not too far away and saw a large door leading into the keep with plenty of room for a man or woman to get through. I pushed back with my legs barely fighting the smirk on my face as the door closed. "Come on high elf get up." I leaned up careful not to apply to much weight onto my leg and took a wall in hand.

I looked over to the Nord Ralof and nodded. "Thank you nord." I know when to give my thanks even to those I was raise to believe to be lesser than me. I turned around that found myself in the midst of all nords, Stormcloaks at that, along with the Jarl himself regarding me like a lesser being myself.

I took a breath and placed my hands on my leg. I just need to concentrate and I can let at least a drop of magicka through into my left. I took simple light breaths and closed my eyes feeling for the pool that they attempted to cut off from me but I am not so easily shackled. The pain in my leg began to dull little by little until I was balance on it well enough.

I felt my arms raise from my leg up just below my shoulders. "Magicka cuffs." Ralof murmured as he examined my cuffs. "And they need a key as well. A key we don't have." I looked around and noticed the Stormcloaks using their own version of a key to unbind themselves leaving me the only one in chains. I could say this is irony but with how things built up to this that word just won't cut it this time.

"They stud my magicka," I said dryly and took my hands back. "I need to get to the keep soon."

"But how," this one Stormcloak Nordic woman asked stepping down from the stairs. "With that… thing out there how can you intend to get to the keep High elf?" I looked the woman over and despite the dirty look and tired dark blue eyes she was really appealing in my eyes. I have always had a soft spot for strong and pretty woman like the one in front of me now.

She had instead of the usual brown or blonde hair she had jet black unruly and long hair falling down to her shoulders. I could see her chest through the leather armor quite easily speaking volumes of the true size behind them with a youthful war torn complexion for she has three scars on her face. Two at her cheeks and one at her chin all pointing the same direction.

She like the rest of the nords around as are equipped with what weapons they could salvage meaning of all things the headsman's axe. I nodded with a slight whistle making the nord woman narrow her eyes at me. "Keep your red eyes to yourself High elf!" The woman turned around giving me a glance of her rear as well and found it to be not bad at all. Hips could be a little wider though. "You know turning around doesn't help. Nice rear by the way." The woman growled and covered her rear then faced toward me. Her cheeks are red from embarrassment and maybe a little anger.

Maybe something closer to rage… maybe. "Damn you elf!"

I smirked and waved at her. "I find you attractive nord," I simply said with a slow shrug, "I don't see what the problem is or why it bothers you." "I don't want you looking at me like that?" "Hn," I feigned confusion with my smile fading away. "Like how?" "Like that!" She pointed to me and brought it back to cover her stomach and chest. "I find you to be a rugged beauty." I walked up the stairs to her and she stepped back. "Forgive me if I offended you but when I see a jewel I admire it." The woman snort loudly and looked away from me.

"Also to answer your previous question, I can handle myself, even if it is a… dragon." Everything was back on topic right then and there plus the roar from before was a sure fire way to bring everyone back from the "thing" that just happened a second ago.

One man voiced his desperation in seconds. "But how can that be a dragon?" That man that lost his mind was already falling into the black zone cried. "H-how can the legends be true, that thing is going to kill us all." I shook my head as I took to the steps. "Jarl Ulfric could the legends be true?" Ralof turned to his leader for closure but the answer give almost made my spirit crash if I was a Stormcloak that is. "Legends don't burn down villages."

"And if you all don't want to burn with you all should leave." All the nords looked over to me. "And quickly to."

The dragon must have landed on the tower because it shook and creaked barely able to take the weight of the beast. "Through here," a man above called. "I found a…"

CRASH!

 **"YOL TOOR SHUL"**

The dragon roared as its head bashed through the stone like a well sharpened knife through hot fat. I stepped in the way of magical flames from what I could feel from the fire spread from the top down the stairs and covered me but my likeness as an elf saved me from anything other than minor damage. The woman behind me survived without a scratch or burn.

"You all should hurry." I climbed up to the top when the dragon left but stopped looking back to the woman. "You are welcome by the way," I sneered at the woman and she just gave me the shoulder. "I owe you nothing elf." I nodded before walking the rest of the way up and looked around with Ralof behind me. "You need to jump elf."

"What?"

I looked around and indeed saw a burning house in the distance that I could jump to but come on it was a burning wood and straw house. Jumping wasn't a good idea. "Come on we will be right behind you." I saw the dragon fly to the next tower and picked up one archer with his teeth. Staying here is not a very good either. I gulped not really wanting to do this and just took the leap.

I went through a wooden beam and his the wood hard but softened the blow when I rolled forward. The beam was weak and faintly stung at best. I climbed up to my feet and rushed out the collapsing house to the stone and dirt outside of it. That was close. I took to my feet again and walked out of the patio of the house casually. I never liked to run unless I truly had to and a dragon does fall under that category just yet. I saw the nord from before that read off the names calling a boy from the middle of the path to him. A man was left there when the dragon landed and roared that one fire spell thing again. The man in the street did not survive. What a shame hehehe.

I walked up to the man making the boy fall over when he bumped into me. "Prisoner!" I nodded and walked out. "Hey where are you going!?" "To the keep nord you best hurry." I ran down the path the moment the dragon took flight. "Wait, prisoner!"

It was simple, the way to the keep was blocked on the other side so I had to dodge magic fire, arrows, sword strikes, and a dragon to get through to the other side. Another day in the mil for me except with the dragon part of it but I am sure it will be fine. I jumped down the stairs into an alley and hovered on the wall. The dragon was right above me facing the way I needed to go.

A couple men fired arrows at the beast to no avail for the dragons scale like armor made them bounce off with ease. The dragon roared and the putrid smell of burning flesh filled my nostril. "By the eight divine," the imperial nord that somehow got beside me said.

The dragon took flight and I moved instantly through the fire and out the side with the nord on my tail. "Stop following me nord!" I dodged a fire ball and an arrow trained on me and rolled over a fence seeing that vaulting was hard enough as it was. "Do you even know where you are going prisoner?" "Of course I do. I going to the captain with the key to my cuffs of course." The nord stopped then his appearance turned grave.

I reached the big doors, two of them, but the dragon was at the farthest one burning away so I looked to the closest. It was that time that Ralof appeared from the broken wall still alive with an imperial made axe in hand.

"High elf!" He announced loudly with almost relief in her tone.

"Nord," I greeted back and gestured to the door. He nodded and rushed to the handle and pulled. I grabbed as well and pulled. The dragon landed on the tower behind us more than likely looking straight at us. "Move Nord!" I pushed the man through and grabbed the door at the same time fire was shot toward me and it was too much to handle this time. It surrounded my arms burning into my skin but I bit the pain back and pulled the door shut. I took the wooden plank to the side and dropped it. The nord did the same to the other side.

"AHh!" I let out and walked out into the light. My arms are singed and burned nearing a charred black but I still can use my fingers so that is a good sign. "Are you alright High Elf?" I grunted at first and nodded.

"I will be once she comes down here."

"What?"

"Nothing let's try and find a way out." We walked into the chamber to only a dead body, a table, a chair, and two gates. The captain is in the left gate I could smell her pheromones anywhere, sadist bitch. Getting aroused from seeing heads roll I will make her head roll that is for sure. She's the tomboyish type too so I will take my own sadist pleasure out of this.

I walked up behind the nord as he examined the body. "Friend of yours?" I leaned down and looked the man over. If the bloody head and rock means anything I would say a falling rock is what killed him while he was sitting in this chair. That is some random way to go I have to admit. I looked down to him and his boots then down to my bare feet. "Yes he was."

"Hm," I mused as I untied his boots and removed them from his body. If I know nords and their "waste not want not" way of life taking the equipment of your fallen and using them later is a way you honor them. Me, I don't care for that at all I need a damn pair of boots and these happen to look close enough to what I need.

"Thanks for saving me back there High elf."

"Just trying to repay the favor Nord." I climbed into the boots with ease making sure to place some of the leather on the body's person at the soles. These unruly things will have to do I suppose but anything this man's feet touched I don't want mine to. I took the axe he had as well then tossed it finding it to be useless and just moments from breaking as well.

Iron was never the material I preferred using in the first place. Steel as the very least but never iron when it comes to lower born metals and all. Daedric will always be one of my favorite metals to use as well as Elven metals made of mystical moonstone and silver. "You're not going to take the axe high elf? It is not elfy enough for you?" I chuckled at the tight rope this man was walking on right now. I rose my foot and stomped the metal of the axe breaking it into pieces. "Terrible quality and never taken care of enough that it snaps easily is the reason nord."

I walked past the man brushing his shoulder out of my way pushing him back slightly. "Check the door, I have the gate." "Its locked and we don't have a key." "And the gate will not lift unless from the other side." "Damn it, so we're trapped." My back took the wall next to the door and leaned back with my hands glowing slightly at my leg. "Not for long." "What do you…?"

"Hurry up!" Ralof scowled and ran to the side opposite of me. "Imperials." I nodded and looked over my shoulder to the three imperials on their way here. "The captain is mine nord understand that?" The nord nodded and prepped his axe.

"Get the gate open now, we have to join General Tullius with the defense." The Captain of the Helgan guard, I assume, ordered to her men. "B-but captain what about the gate on the other side?" "I have a damned key now hurry up and get the gate open!" "Y-yes ma'am!" The two men with her took the chains in hand and pulled it open little by little. I waited until the gate was half way open and then rushed in.

I tackled the first of the imperials taking his sword in hand straight from the scabbard and pulled back with it aimed at him. The man couldn't even cry out as his sword pierced his chest and gashed it open. I pulled it back lashing the surprised second man's neck open but with the awkward way I had the sword in hand it fell from my hands the moment the captain recognized me and drew her sword to me. I blocked with the shackles on my wrists but the force was enough to make me lose my grip on the stone floor and fall back.

I fell back on the chain and pulled opening the gate fully but at the cost of my back contacting the ground hard enough to make me lose air. "Damn you High elf!" The Captain charged me and stabbed down to me. I gripped the chain and pulled up with the sword stabbing behind me at my back where my stomach was. I was thankful for my long arms and legs at this instance and kicked back into a roll. I came up but then something more akin to a bull rammed into me forcing us both down and over into the chamber but this bull was mostly metal and female fury in one small package so close to the real thing. Two things that shouldn't be mixed together and I am speaking from experiences with angry insane woman before including the vampiric sort.

I had my hands out and used my long reach as well and pushed the woman off of my chest. Before she could stab me I kicked her away from me but not far for her weight is quite substantial combined with the strain it placed upon me in my weakened body didn't do much in push back in this instance. That gave me a second though and that second was all I needed for this raging bull to charge and me to roll out of the way back to my feet with my hands out in the ready despite the chain cuffs on my wrist right now restricting my hand space by at least a hilt long.

"Stay out of this!" I shouted making the woman narrow her eyes as me that is until she turned around to Ralof in mid swing near her neck. The Red Guard didn't move for the edge of his axe was at her neck and if she moved she could slit her own neck. "The Red Guard is mine Nord." The captain's eyes widened at my admission making her regard me in a sort of different light.

"High elf you are unarmed and chained you can't…" "

No nord, she is mine, now back off." Ralof looked from me to the captain and slowly stepped back away from the two of us to the side of the chamber.

"It is you and me Red Guard." My hands began to glow with the faint amount of magicka I could transform into fire and charged it little by little instead of the full stream that I could create. The woman growled at the mention of her looks and bared her sword at me seconds from charging at me. "Damn elf," the woman growled until she smirked at me. "At least I get to kill you myself." I snort loudly and took a two handed knife hold stance.

I have girth, base weight, superior height, and longer reach on her but she has heavy imperial captain armor covering her chest, waist, shins, head, and arms along with being armed with an Imperial long sword made of iron instead of steel for some peculiar reason. I distinctly remembering her having a captain's sword made of an uneven but balanced mixture of steel and silver when I first saw her but now has a common grade Iron long sword that the foot soldiers us. Bad for me just as much as it is good. I would have preferred the steel and silver sword over this Iron one. She must have lost it on the way here but she is captain for a reason and it wasn't from getting on her knees. She is experienced as well more than likely war torn from the constant skirmishes with the Stormcloaks here in Skyrim and more than earned her rank in blood. "If you can kill me," I worded carefully.

"Many have tried and failed woman, you really think you have what it takes to kill me?"

"AHH!" she roared and rushed me with the diagonal slash to cut across my chest but I shifted out of the way moving inward into her off side. I can't punch her and I don't have the strength to rip my way through that metal armor of hers as well. My magicka is severely restricted but not out of my reach so I can charge my fire spell just at an incredibly slow rate but fast enough to combat this woman. I took her helm in hand and pushed the fire spell into the metal turning it red little by little.

The woman struggled by the grip I had on her helm limited just how far she could move because the neck naturally does not turn that far from its normal forward facing position. "Ahh, Talos damn it!" The woman cursed and stabbed her sword back toward me. I looped around to her off side out of the way and took a strap in hand and felt it take to fire easily. It was oily and easy to burn though. I jumped back from a desperate slash to get me to back off and stepped away charging my fire spell again.

"The word of Talos from an imperial, that is a surprise," I mused with my arms still at the ready. The woman removed her red hot helm cooking the gloves that she had on as well on her left hand. The strap of her cuirass gave way and pushed outward held at the other shoulder, and both sides. "Well what will you do now woman, I will level this playing ground little by little we continue." The woman growled and rose her sword as her answer.

I rushed forward and this time tackled her myself pushing the sword to her hip and rammed her against the wall into the table. I let go and grabbed the other strap at her shoulder to burn it. I fist impacted my stomach making me gasp because gods did it hurt. I fell over but the table gave way forcing both of us down into a roll with the strap taking flame as well then snapping it in two. The woman landed on me straddling my hips struggling on top of me. Her hand had my chain in hand and forced my arms back above my head. I kicked up but the woman pushed me back down with a slight adjustment of her weight and rose her fist.

She must have dropped her sword and now was seconds from punching me out. My head smashed into the ground from an almighty adrenaline rushed punch to the cheek. My legs bucked up from the recoil and forced me into the ground seeing stars everywhere. Another punch came then another and another until something hit my shoulder instead. The punches stopped and I felt my head arch up barely to quite a sight. "You," I begin with a tilt of the head. "Wear bandages instead of a shirt and only one bandage at that?" I chuckled and brought my arms up to her fallen cuirass and pushed it out of the way. This was a surprise I will admit. A sheet of steel and a bandage was all she wore up top. No wonder she went all adrenaline rush on me and stop me from burning her straps.

"N-no!" She did the woman thing and covered and bare chest away from me. "D-don't look." I bucked up and pushed to woman off of my body to the stone floor. I walked over to her and took the ring of keys on her side and stepped back shamelessly admiring her warrior's body. So lean and fit it was with a good amount of muscle as well. That navel as well was so slim but the core was muscular as well. Her hair was all sleek and short with a dark brown sheen that looked good with her lighter shaded skin. She was yet again another pretty woman with nice assets. Her chest wasn't as big as the nord Stormcloak woman's from before but her rear on the other hand is worth admiring.

"Why are you hiding your body?" I unshackled myself with the key. "You have a beautiful body as well Captain."

"Go to Oblivion Elf!"

"Been there and got this out of it." I pointed to my ring and rubbed my wrists. My mana pool came back in full force as the healing spell turned from a faint glimmer to an orb of pure in the palm of my hands. My burns, my bruises, my bleeding lip all healed in moments along with my knee. It felt so good. I tossed the key to the door to Ralof and stepped back away from the captain. "Why you follow a man like General Tullius that willingly left you to die here I will never know. I can tell you that coward left and escaped Helgen the moment the dragon arrived. I would take my chances KIA then following that man."

I dropped the woman's sword and tossed her the Stormcloak leather armor. "Good luck captain." I waved goodbye and went out toward the door. "I am going to kill you for this elf." I stopped and looked back to the woman and smiled.

"Good luck." I closed the grate and gave the captain one last look then sneered. "Hey nord watched this."

I walked over the woman as she was putting that armor one midway and leaned over to her. She noticed me and went wide eyed. I cupped her chin kissed her straight on the lips. Before she could kill me I ran back to the gate and closed it behind me.

"DAMN YOU HIGH ELF!"

* * *

Ralof was laughing hysterically at the moment as we both made our way down into the keep. "Damn Elf that was amazing. Never have I seen a fight won like that hahaha!" I hummed in amusement instead of laughing like the nord. "Quite the sight aye?" "Indeed." Seeing an embarrassed red faced female Red Guard that talked all high and mighty suddenly be reduced to that state was quite funny. "You even gave her one on the lips whatever you did."

"What? Do you mean the kiss?"

"A kiss?" He questioned actually genuinely puzzled. "What is a kiss?" I sighed and shook my head. I forgot that kissing is an Imperial race sort of thing that most of the other races do not include in their day to day mating rituals. Even I learned it from an Imperial myself and found it so strange and unfamiliar. That act of sucking face or each other's lips was strange to me when it first happened to me but it wasn't unpleasant I will admit. It felt sort of good to tell the truth and it is a shame that most men and woman in this world will never understand the pleasure it could bring; thank gods to because the surprised looks I get when I kiss on uncultured woman like the Red Guard is worth it. We turned the corner and saw a couple imperial soldiers in the middle of the hall.

"There they are!" The men drew weapons suddenly the roof collapsed. "And there they go," I chuckled and continued down. "This place is coming down on top of us," Ralof said making it all too obvious for me. "And it looks like we will have to find a way around."

"Then the door then. Come nord and don't fall behind if you want to live." In the door what I expected was maybe a group of frightened men but instead is was a cook and another officer though not a captain. The officer saw me and brandish his sword. "Stormcloaks!" The man rushed to us but I already had my hands up at the ready. I spoke two words of power and felt the mana in my vast pool-which used to be an ocean- cause my finger tips to crackle and light up. Lightning buzzed in my left hand and my right was free but not for long I'm sure.

When the man was close enough I sent a nice jolt into the tip of his sword then stopped and aimed at his metal to flesh shin guards causing his arm and leg to stiffen and the rest of him to spasm for a moment. I caught the sword by the hilt and shouldered the man in the chest taking the sword as he stumbled back. I whirled around and thrust straight into his neck out the other side. The man fell down to the ground dead in seconds.

The cook and Ralof remained still in place from my kill but the cook came to his senses fast. I rose my hand and shot a stream of lightning into the man in leather armor but he resisted for the most part enough to keep walking. Damn leather armor, these soldiers need more metal on them. I tossed my sword at him but swords are not meant to be thrown and only clipped him at the back to the knee forcing him down. I ran at him and grabbed the back of his neck. "N-no please don't!" I took his dagger from his side and slid it from ear to ear in one fluid movement. The man gargled drowning in his own blood but I held him steady until all movement came to an end.

"Gods above, just who or what are you?" Ralof mumbled under his breath. My large and pointed ears do more than just frame my face meaning I heard his every mumble and could decipher the grunts and whistles of the Nordic tongue he spoke in. I chose not to remark on his question after all he wasn't generally asking me directly.

I pushed the cook down and stepped back. I tossed the knife back to the cook and stepped over to officer. "A lieutenant by the looks of his scale armor." I leaned over the looked at his armor and the trousers he wore as well. "This looks like a kitchen so maybe they have potions here you can use. Get what you need and I will be by the door waiting."

"Aye," I said.

The scale armor was well made and earned maybe a week ago. It still was well oiled and dulled. The weight was something I am not really accustomed to, being so light and all, but it will do for now. Need to get something heavier next time. I tore the sack clothing I had one for the trousers and found them a little too tight on my body. I looked to the cook and found his legs are larger than the new officer or previously new officer. Regular leather and fur trousers but they will have to do. I took the black undershirt from the cook as well then placed the scale armor over the shirt. The officer's steel sword has the usual sheath that comes with an officers sword with a clip and strap at the end to keep it from coming out during horseback riding. Perfect for me with the way I wield my swords. Upside down with the hilt pointing outward from my right hip. Most wear their swords the opposite way but this seems to the most efficient if I have to attack quick, fast, and in a hurry. I took a sack on the table in hand and threw food, water, and potions I found into it. I slung the knapsack over my shoulder so it hung on my back next to the sword.

"You ready?" Ralof called. I wiped some of the dirt from my trouser and nodded. "Yes let's go Nord," I said and walked into the hallway.

"My name is Ralof High Elf. What is your name?"

"If you survive this dragon attack nord I might tell you."

We climbed down the stairs to the sound of a scuffle. Lightning based magic was in use meaning that one hit will drain my mana pool and my energy quick. The nord moved to run out but I took him by the shoulder and pulled him back.

"When it's over."

"Damn you elf let me go. Those are my brothers and sisters."

"When it's over!" I pulled the nord back and slammed him onto the stone. "They are fighting a losing battle even I can feel that and that is magic you see arching every which way. We stand a better chance of survival if we fight already exhausted opponents nord and if that room is what it smells like then your men are already dead so calm down and think for once nord. That is the problem with your kind, always running in without a plan like a damn savage." I pushed off of the nord and walked down.

"Now follow my lead and say quiet." Sneaking has never been one of my strong suits like that of destruction magicka or illusion. I wish I remembered how to make a mage light but the annulment they did on me made that impossible. The sounds of battle ended just as fast as it happened. "What is ahead?"

"You nord," I whispered with my hand crackling from lightning little my little. "I can feel two in the room, I will take the magician with lightning to deplete the rest of his magicka and you take him in seconds. The warrior is mine until you can get an angle on him. I can see him with a battle axe, with lots of metal armor, and no enchantments on his body. I will use fire to blind him and if he isn't dead by the time you're done stab him in the back. Understand Nord?"

"Aye, let's do it." I nodded and held my hand back, "when I shock the mage you come out." I rushed out before he could answer the fired a concentrated torrent of lighting at the wizard and took him my surprise making the man in the hood shot straight off of his boots to the ground. The large man in metal Imperial steel armor whirled around with his hand on his axe. I jumped upward drawing my sword in reverse grip and stabbed downward. The man was seasoned and still full of chemicals to see my believably greenhorn strike coming and flowed past me pushing me down into the ground. I tucked my shoulder and rolled to my feet. The man came at me with his axe at the ready and I with my fire spell ready as well. The man hesitated but I didn't.

The room lit up in fire around us licking the face of the man blinding him temporarily. I stopped the spell and took a moment to see that the man used his axe to block my fire attack. I stepped up to my feet and switched grips to normal. I leapt back from a slow two handed axe attack and moved into his guard catching his block with my blade. I pushed but this man was healthy and full of energy. He pushed me back despite height advantage. "Come on elf I thought you were all powerful," the man taunted to which I just grinned and took the handle of his axe in hand. "Who needs power when you have comrade's Imperial dog?"

Blood showered around me as I watched a head fall and roll away from me. I pushed the man way to the ground to reveal Ralof with a bloody axe in hand. His attention though were on the bodies around us. Signs of torture are shown on all of them. I sighed and got to work allowing the man to get his bearings. The imperial steel gauntlets fit well on my arms same with the shin guards as well. The steel battle axe I had to literally cut from the warriors hands fit well on my back pointing the right way this time with another nice officer's weapon but this time I have a scabbard instead of a sheath. Most oversized weapons do after all.

"Strange for an elf to carry such arms."

"Same for a dragon to attack after thousands of years."

I pocketed every bit of gold I could find and the picks as well to pick any lock I come across. I saw a body of a mage in one of cages but what really took up my interest was the book I saw hidden under his body. The interesting thing about that book was that it was my grimoire. The one I cursed and by the looks of the grey eyes and scabbed face he opened it too long and suffered under the curse. Foolish kin of mine that decided to play with magic he was nowhere near to being ready to see or understand. And now he is dead.

The young one probably assumed that my all powerful tome of magic and research would save him from the bigot torturer and in a way it did. The pain is gone now I suppose. I kneeled down and got to work on the lock.

"The mage," I said over to the side. "Alive for now." I heard the click of the lock opening and looked over to the bleeding man in the cage. The man saw me and chuckled. "Well," he coughed. "Ain't it the elf I had some much fun with before." I rose my eyebrow and entered the cage.

"So you are the one that annulled me." I took my book and gold the mage had on him before exiting the cage. It's a shame to see the young die so early for he could even see his first Livanian Festival held every two decades but that's life for you. Not for me but for others.

I opened the first page to my book that wasn't cursed and moved over to the Nord. "That's right hehehe I took it all way… It was my pleasure." I stood in front of the man's cage and turned towards him. I took the oil lantern above in hand and tossed it in. "And this is mine." I blasted the lantern open and spread flames into the cage. I closed and door and beckoned for the nord to follow. The screams were music to my ears.

Even if I lost my clothing or my weapons the information in this encrypted tome is worth more than three mountains and the mines or ruins underneath them. With my power annulled it will take me time to reach my levels from before and unlock the higher paths of magicka all over again but it's good to have a guide for once instead of going by ear. I closed my tome and placed it in the tome cast I grabbed from the mage in the cage as well.

"Let's go." I pushed on farther into the room but stopped at the table in the center. A book was sitting on it. A dragon symbol was on top as well. I took it in hand and opened. "The book of the dragon born," I mused before shutting it and throwing it into my pack as well. "Maybe if we are lucky he will show up and kill the dragon," Ralof pondered. "Yes and the Thalmor will apologize for outlawing Talos worship as well?" I jested with a light chuckle because I know that will never happen after all a man becoming a god is impossible. Ask the Hero of Kvatch he will tell you.

"You are a strange elf you know that."

"Obviously you have not been to the far reaches of Hammerfell or Cyrodiil before. I am not as strange as you might think." No I am much stranger then you could ever imagine nord. Much stranger for finding a High elf just like me isn't even possible. "I am not sure about that High Elf." I could hear moment ahead and smell imperial a mile off. "Get ready Nord for we fight the rest of the way."

And fight we did. At least two dozen imperials from the torture room to the caves below. Good field experience with each fight and against a multitude of weapons from swords to maces. Bows to axes. I fought and killed anything that got in my way to freedom brushing up on my lost one-handed sword play and my two-handed as well. I couldn't find a good bow for me to use so I left it as is for now.

"This looks to be the way out." We entered the cave to lots of stone and rocks but at least we had a way I could feel it. I jumped down the edge to the bottom floor. "Come then we should hurry you don't want to end up like him."

"Who?"

"Die Stormcloak scum!" A soldier left alive came at Ralof only for the ceiling to come down over his head destroying the bridge back into Helgen.

"Ah, him."

"Yes, now let us go. I grown tired of all this dragon stuff."

"Aye, me to." Ralof jumped down from the ridge as well behind me and followed me down farther into the cave. "You impress me elf I will admit." "Trust me I don't plan on impressing anyone. If an obstacle is in your way you destroy it so it doesn't come back." The nord grunted. "The captain elf?"

I stopped and rubbed a hand though my silvery hair. "Some blocks are worth keeping up nord. Too bad I couldn't steal a lip from the one nord in the tower."

"You mean Anya? You are interested in her? Gods elf she eat you alive!"

"Or I would eat her, it all depends." Ralof chuckled and sheath his axe. "You should take you bow out." Ralof didn't question me this time and just did as I advised. "What is ahead this time elf? More Imperials?" "No these things do not smell of man?" "How can you smell that far elf? I never knew an Altmer with super senses." "That is a long story of many from my misspent youth around a hundred or so years ago." "Ah, I can understand that. We all have a history… Did you say a hundred years?!"

"Get ready," I crouched down and turned the corner. I saw them in the darkness moving about through their webs.

"Spiders," I growled. "Gods look at the eyes. So many."

"Just take aim and fire when ready."

"What will you do?"

"Burn them." I have hand a good couple minutes to breathe and recover a good portion of my mana pool thanks to the ring on my finger still and looked up to what should be the sky. No matter where I go the constellation of the way of Destruction is always in sight when I look up to the very thing that guides me and my abilities to protect myself and others. I have lost so much knowledge because of the magician but I can get them back is the high point of this situation. Like to fuse the power of my flame spell in both hands together to make an even more powerful variation.

"I am ready nord. You may fire when ready." The first arrow shot to the spider that was moving stirring the hornets' nest or in this case the spider's nest. They dropped to the ground from the ceiling on those silk things and rushed toward us. "

They are coming."

"Keep firing." I charged my spell and looked back up the stars above and smiled. "This will end it." I through my hands forward forcing fire to completely cover the cave passage leaving very little room for the spiders to hide. I don't know how man scurried into the fire but I know that it was a good amount of them. I felt my mana pool deplete and dropped my hands feeling a little more exhausted than before. A couple more spiders lived but most are dead or dying on fire. Ralof rained down more arrows after arrow on the ones still moving as the others that moved away from the flames waited for use to draw near.

"By Talos elf if you were not here," he jested when we past most of the bodies of spiders of all shapes and sized mainly sizes. "There are a couple left nord so take out your axe." I drew my sword and stepped into the nest which was still burning with the flames catching to the silky webs above. At least three spiders are left thank god. I stomped the first and stabbed it in the eyes. Ralof slashed the fangs of the second and buried his axe in it. I looked around for the last because I could feel it was here looking at me even now.

"That looks like all of them." I moved to the nord with my sword out and held it ready for a thrust. "Wait elf what are you…?" I thrust and pulled back. On my sword was blood which I wiped off on the webs closest to me. Ralof turned around and saw the third and last dead spider hanging behind him by a thread. "Now that's all of them."

I continued down into the cave with Ralof behind me. "Thanks again High Elf." "It is nothing Nord we should move." I took a whiff of the air and growled an almost animalistic one.

"Are you really a hundred years old elf?" Was this so hard to believe. Dumner can live twice the life expectancy of an Imperial and Bosmer longer than that. My father is much older than thanks to Vin'japak: The Ancestry. Ignorance must truly be bliss for some races that suffered from quickened aging like Nords and Red Guards. Basically the races that aren't deprived from Elves. I just shook my head to his question and answered, "I am much older than that Nord. Much older."

"B-but how and…" "Why do I look so young?" I finished. "That is because I spent a good amount of time as an undead and then many other inhuman things. You don't live to be my age without doing much and seeing much." I sighed at the large amount of time and experience my body lost in its captivity. "But sadly all that I built in the years was cut off." Cut off for now. Most I can get back but not all. That would take time that I probably no longer have. "Because of that annul thing you talked about?"

"Yes," I sighed. "The Ritual of Annulment is used to make it so that if a mage too dangerous to hold in magicka studding shackles like these on my belt," I rattled the shackles, "and control them. They use this ritual to purge the mind of all of its previous abilities and experiences completely wiping your slate clean. Currently I'm left with only the knowledge on how to build my way back slowly in the back of of my mind. I just now developed one of the most basic of abilities that comes with destruction magicka as I have seen with both hands. Something I used to be able to do with one finger let alone two hands." I rose my hands and watched as lighting arced in one and fire grew alive in the other. The size would be impressive to the untrained eye but if my father saw me now he'd drag me to the Chamber of Unfolds again. I don't wish for that to happen yet.

"All my power and experience are now stripped away from me leaving me to build up my lost talents all over again. I was in a very Imperial killing mood, and still am you see, that is one reason I killed most of them myself." None of them could stop me. Even with my weakened body and studded stamina I can still out perform a couple children barely three decades old. I learned hand to hand from a good friend of mine that trained from some stranger crazy enough to claim he came from the east over the ocean. Whether or not it's true is something else entirely it I did learn how to disarm and throw heavy opponents. U used my hands and sword mostly against them. Only with one officer did I take out my axe and bisect him from his shoulder to his hip.

"But you said you know how to build so you can do it again right?" His words broke me from my thought process and I dropped one of my hands back down. It was dark in the cavern and a little light didn't hurt anyone. "No nord, some things have to be taught to you and many skills I had I learned from others. I can grow again but it will take such a long time." I sighed, "A lot of time." And I didn't store everything into my tome. I have most of my black and daedric magic within it along with techniques using certain weapons but still not everything is there. Not the fundamentals which is why this will take a moment. I never thought this would happen and my body still reacts sluggishly how it should but it's not good enough still. The basics are something I'd have to pick up as I go.

I reached back to my knapsack and pulled out a potion to restore my stamina. The instant I drank it I could feel my body wake up again but this will not last for long. "I can say this elf, you are like a tiger in a fight." "Hm. You should take out your axe." I pulled my battle axe from my back and held it on my shoulder. "What is ahead more spiders?" I took in the scent of fur ahead and shook my head. "No, another thing that isn't man."

"Gods what is next a damned cave bear." "Ask and you shall receive nord." I pointed outward. "I wasn't serious Talos help me." In the middle of the large cavern under the sunlight was a cave bear. A large brown bear that looked to be asleep right now. It's not winter yet so it's not hibernating so it could wake up if we aren't careful enough.

"It's one bear and I wish for its pelt." I walked toward the bear. "You are just going to take it head on?" "No but we will." The bear began to awaken from its slumber when we approached to close. "Are you sure about this?" The nord sounded apprehensive. "Of course. There is two of us and one of it so this shouldn't take too long. You want the front or the flank?"

"The front this time." I nodded and ran to the side before the bear could stand and brought my axe down on its leg. The bear roared and swat a paw at me. I jumped back and whirled around cutting his side with the edge of the axe careful not to damage the pelt too much. Ralof came at it and took out and eye and its left paw. The bear suddenly got on hind legs and overwhelmed me pulling me in to his underbelly. My axe handle was in its mouth and I pushed with as much strength as I could manage to keep those teeth off of me.

Suddenly the bear groaned. Whatever could have happened, I don't know but blood was raining down from the bear. "That is why I wanted the front." I grunted and pulled myself out from under the bear. "Need a hand?" The nord said with a tone full of amusement. "I got this nord." This damn bear was heavy and it was obvious that I wasn't going anywhere. "You sure elf?" I bit my lip and extended my hand. Ralof took my hand and pulled me out from under the bear. "Thanks," I grumbled and wiped the mountain of hair off of my body. The nord chuckled in response. "Let's go." "What about the bear elf?" "I don't think it is going anywhere anytime so. I will come back later." The nord chuckled again and followed my lead.

"You would make a good leader," Ralof admitted to me surprisingly. "I was a leader of men once but it ended up with one of the emperors losing his life and a good three thousand of the empires finest dying in one big battle against me and my band of mercenaries. We won with it being Five hundred against the three thousand but in the end we disbanded because five hundred turned to fifty at the end. Some still wear the old banner to and I met one or two of the families of the men that followed me. I believe the banner is used to represent a guild these days though. I forget which one."

"I still can't get over your age. You look to be mid twenty at the most." "It is nice to retain your youth even though I should be as ugly as a hagraven by now." "By gods are you immortal?" "If I was then I wouldn't be here in this instance that is for sure. Look," I pointed out, "light up ahead." "Ah, I have almost forgotten what it looks like." "Then we should hurry and reacquaint you." "Aye," he agreed.

* * *

I breathed fresh air with a fine mixture of burning flesh, boiling blood, and buildings still on fire. That smell was amazing because it was the smell of sweet freedom. I stretched out my arms as the sun's rays fell over and bathed me in warmth. I could feel my father Auriel's hands brushing along my body inch my inch on what was exposed by the sun.

I was never one for the gods above or as cultured as the rest of my kind though the pride and the arrogance remains. You win a battle without magic and only a borrowed orc battle-axe in hand (even though I have never touched a two handed in battle before that) and still kill a good thirty or so rampaging orcs without dying and try not to get an ego from that. Not wasn't that easy to do in the middle of war and all but still over powering an orc with myself being an Altmer, who normally have smaller builds than that of our cannibalistic cousins the Bosmer, is an accomplishment. I no longer have the scar from that battle on my chest because of Necro related incidents but the lesson I learned that day stayed.

Magicka will not always be there to save you so if you can't hold a sword, bow, or spear you will die and I don't plan on dying again anytime soon. That's the third time I escaped death again after so long and he or she almost had me. Son of a Ra'chav had been chasing me since I was born and before I'd give him the kick in the arse every now and again. I rose my arms though a little smaller than before are still ready and strong from the years of use they have suffered along with me. I may be taller than most and not as agile is some but I can run fast and almost arrogant to say that I am the fastest in the world. My build for an Altmer is much more than the typical and the girth that I built couldn't be destroyed in just a month. My healing abilities will not allow me to go down that way that easily.

"We are finally out." The nord Stormcloak Ralof started to laugh and pat me on the back. "Damn fine job in there elf. Wouldn't have…"

RAWWWAH!

"Down!" Instantly I was in the bushes hiding from the dragon overhead while Ralof took refuge in a cluster of rocks and shrubs. By far the worse camouflage the man could have taken if he wanted to be stealthy but the dragon if it noticed us didn't care about us at all enough to fly way toward the direction of a mountain in the distance. I laid back on the ground on the rocks and grass panting like a bitch of a pup right now. Never seen a dragon before and never really wanted to in that sort of way. I have heard stories and read about them being intelligent enough to have normal conversations with as well and would have been honored to have met one that was civilized enough to talk first and burn villages later.

First interaction with the dragon was not as successful as I imagined it could have been then again those words it spoke played in my mind over and over. I think it was "Yol toor shul" or something like that and the other was only once. When it landed on the tower blasting way everything in its path. "Fus Ro Dah." That was what it roared sending thunder into my ears deafening everyone around him and even then sending one in direct path flying. Its power was amazing. Fire rained from the sky when I roared and towered fell from a flap of its wings. Dragons are truly worthy to be feared but I still wish to talk to one if I can. If dragons are returning from extinction then this day is one to take advantage like when all god kings around the world became mortal again like Vivic so long ago.

I wonder how that one chosen Dunmer is doing in oblivion right now. Most likely is where I am going for my eternal rest as well then again who really knows. I still don't know despite how old I am. I felt my age showing a moment ago.

"I think he's gone now." I watched the dragon past the mountain to, if my studies are correct, to resurrect the rest of his brethren around the world meaning that one dragon I found so long ago. Its skeleton was so large and still radiated power too. I can imagine just what will happen when that dragon came back and just who it will come back for. Really wish I still had my notes on the temple I found inside with the dragon but I at least remember the words that where carved at the dragons maul.

Jun Kah Riik. Funny I could never understand what those words written before but I suddenly can now. I've been moaning and groaning over those words for so long too but finally I can understand them. Blame the exposure to the Dragon after all it roared three words as well like the ones I found so long ago when I protected those bones and the sacred burial ground of the dragon. I left an offering or two as per the dragon cults wishes else I'd burn at that stake. Dragons are supposed to be the children of the Dragon God of time Akatosh so why not respect them like you do the god.

"Jun Kah Riik." The words sounded rough and grizzly but fluid enough to bare some weight. Like ice sliding off your tongue sticking to it here or there. I have always believed that it was some sort of nord language but hearing a dragon speak it made that notion much more complicated than I thought.

"What?" I blinked from my zoned out state and shook my head. "What?" I said back confused on why I was asked "what" and what was being asked at all. The nord was over me looking down at me with a grin of his own make. "What are you doing elf other than talking some gibberish no one can understand. To himself of all things. Have you gone mad at last elf?" The man rose his hand out and presented it to me to take. I looked at the hand and swallowed my pride for now. "It is not gibberish," I defended my research that is finally bearing fruit for the first time in years.

Not many people other than the legendary greybeards have any knowledge of the language of the dragons to maybe that should be the first place I should go to learn more about the language of the dragons from something closer to home than a dragon even if they will all more than likely be nords and not Altmer. I need someone knowledgeable enough to translate because it is one thing to be able to say it and another to understand it. Something Stormcloak nord here doesn't understand at all. "It is a language as old as time itself possibly."

"Oh," the nord said in blatant disbelief. "Pray tell me where you heard…"

"Jun Kah Riik," I said again with a little more force this time so he could hear it. "Aye that. Where did you hear it elf." I blinked and walked past the man. "I didn't hear that verse before just seen it." "Then how do you know then?" "Because that dragon was speaking the same language and the phase I just used was one I found in a dragon burial ground and tomb many years ago. Both might be connected."

It all can't be coincidence that the moment I am exposed to a dragon suddenly the language becomes legible to me in the back of my mind. The day I started to study the dragons and the legends of those born of dragon souls started around fifteen years ago after my time as night kin then every year on this specific month on a pattern of days I make a breath through in my research. It is always the same after a year of study and translating if I can which eventually led me here to Skyrim where the Nordic ruins are said to house men and women that revered the dragon as gods and so made shrines in their honor. I found this out maybe two years ago and wanted to come to Skyrim then and everyday past then but something always came up but finally this time I was forced to flee to this cold wasteland of madness instead.

It happened that on this day in the eve of the Celestial turnover that I have my breakthrough. I finally find my way to Skyrim to find my death here, or so I believed. Instead a live dragon attacks and destroyed a village with me in it. That was the grandest and most destructive break I have even had in my dragon research and in the end added more questions and just enough answers to lead me on the right path and right now I was staring at it. The first crypt I planned to visit before I got captured. I don't know what it was called before but in this day and age it is known as Bleak fall's Burrow. That was supposed to be my first stop but this one to Helgen makes up for the amazing Imperial hospitality and the Ritual of Annulment placed upon me for the first time in my life. So many firsts in this one month in this one week and in this one day. This just so happened to be my birth month and day as well. So many coincidences in such a short time. Makes a man almost believe in fate but fate is a lie and never existed in this world. I believe more in chance than I do fate most days.

"You think so elf?" The nord reminded me of his smaller existence to that of the dragons. "I know so," I announced proudly in having a leg up on maybe most of the entire population of Skyrim and maybe the whole world unless there is a dragon based elder scroll out there I didn't know about someone read and even more crucial information on the beasts than I do. Wish I could read the scrolls myself without risk of blinding myself and without to deal with the headache and sometimes hangover that comes with looking at them for too long. Trying to remember all the scrolls I read over the years is not easy. One on Morrowind spoke of Red mountain before it erupted caused me to go into a coma for over three days. That was not fun. Then here was the one scroll I read about the moon as well and the coming storm for the children of the night not that it matters at all now I mean the signs have not shown themselves yet so I suppose it is fine and the dragon crisis is more important anyway.

"You sound proud of that?"

"I have studied dragons for almost two decades and have more knowledge on these beasts than most of you here in Skyrim." I could barely contain my excitement at the coming storm of dragons to come if my research at all stems from truth then I can expect the world becoming full of dragons soon enough if that was who or what I think it was. A midnight black dragon with oblivion red fire as eyes. I have read the scriptures before about it but I wonder if that truly was who I think it is. Really wish I had a dragon base elder scroll right now despite the probability of getting a hangover from the realm of chaos and parties itself like when I read the moon.

"You sound excited to see that thing as well." "I am nord trust me. Seeing a living breathing dragon in person and seeing it work like in the first period so long ago is really amazing." "Amazing!" Ralof snarled and took be by the shoulders. "Damn it elf a dragon coming and destroy Helgen was amazing to you?" I rose an eyebrow and yanked the man's hands off the cuirass I wore.

"Calm down Nord," I leered at his behavior. "You may feel connected with Helgen but you forget what I am and how old I am. I have seen nations fall not just town's nord so that was nothing new to me. The dragon part was but nothing else." The nord grimaced and turned back to the path. I walked past him again. "Shall we continue down the path nord or do you wish to make this bigger?" "We can go elf." The man walked past me and I followed. Nations rise and nations fall just like when people are born and when they pass one. In the end the memory of the person or nation is all that is left much like the ancient snow elves of old I read about. Rise and fall of races and nations aren't anything new to me. Sort of wish I was alive to see the fall of the dwarves though but I can't be that lucky.

"Look down there." I climbed up to the top of the ridge and followed the finger pointing outward to the river but more specifically the stones below. "The Guardian stones."

"Guardian stones?" They honestly looked like simple stones to me with no real use to them but things are never as they appear up close versus to how they look in the distance. "Aye, come on elf let me show you." Show me he did. These stones are actually "standing stones" but I suppose the people of Riverwood decided to call these things Guardian stones instead. I have always felt that power of the Standing stones as one that is hard to resist to NOT dabble in.

The pilgrimage from land to land and stone to stone has been an interesting quest of mine I took some time ago. I don't really remember but I know that I visit and touched each and every one of the stones I come across and just feel the Divines giving me the power of the stars above. The constellations have always guided me from one place to the next. From my dwelling into the cave that caused my curse of undying and to the witch that cured me. The stars are my gate guide and gateway to higher powers. From what I can see by the design of the stars and carvings I have three basic stones that most men and women of legend seem to touch at least once in their lives.

The Thief: Speed and agility will be promoted by those the take on the blessing of this stone and any skills included under those two things. Sneaking to pickpocketing, the thief is fast enough to maneuver around crowds and the bulkiest of enemies. I have picked a pocket once and it sent me to the brig for a week but that is only if I don't strip you completely before you can see it coming. My arms are fast and striping other people isn't all the hard that is if they are not shackled that is like with the Red Guard captain from before I striped in Helgen. It took me a second with only having studded magic and shackles on my hands as well but in the end it worked out. Most people reframe from fighting for a second if they lose the bulk of their armor. My fingers taking those straps in hand would have been difficult it I was a human instead of an elf of the Highest order. I moved to the next and found it was the warrior.

The Warrior: Those that find the way of the sword and shield will fine that the art will come to them faster along with the creation of the very thing they use to bring death to their foes. The warrior is useful will admit but I am more naturally aligned to another constellation than this one. Naturally a child is born under a certain signature there are countries like in Skyrim where you can choose the sign you wish to fall under for greater physical effects over spiritual.

I was born under The Lover and it made talking to other people that much easier and rather align to that one her in Skyrim than switch to another; then again I have learned in the years to use a large amount of weapons in my years. I've always preferred swords, whether one-handed or two-handed, the most part over an axe or a hammer. If I take up either of those two it is to have a two-handed in conjunction with my one handed. With my sword play shields have never really been all that effective but I understand well that they can come in handy just encase. Armor now, it all depends. I carried at least heavy and if I wore light armor of mostly elven. No matter the race that made it I have always preferred the armor the Dumner made or the sort made by powerful daedra if they come to the world. I let the stone go and walked to the last. The Mage but I knew that before I even looked at it. If strength and speed are here that leaves only a few things the last can bestow upon me. In this case it is will in the form to a man with a staff.

The Mage: The power of magicka realized and unleashed by those that fall under the sign of The Mage to bring retribution upon your enemies, bend light and matter to your advantage, control the minds of others, and restore a tired body as consequence of mana that will not last forever. The mage is one sign I have never fell upon for too long. I have always been strong enough in the magicka department not to do it and I fall under a different birth sign either way. The mage isn't one I cared for as an Altmer it has always been second nature to me to cast and I love using Magicka enough to get plenty of practice. Magicka has always be my salvation and downfall many times but still I can turn from what I was born with.

"Touch on elf, go ahead." Do I really want to touch one of these stones though? I don't really see the harm in it but which one to choose though. Having a blessing placed upon my skills sounds nice enough I guess but which skills do I think I will have the more trouble with. Not the mage now that I have those cuffs off. I can feel one or two forgotten spells are back in my grasp again but they are basic again like one that I learned a long time ago from some liar of a Khajiit on the side of the road that wore dark glasses because his nighteye never shut off.

Illusion magic is a favorite of mine and as well as Alteration. I have that to light up not only my way but anyone that happens to be in my way as well. The dark has never held control on my body and mind and that is one experience no matter the annulment done on me that it ever make me forget. Dark and I have a relationship but only when I can see through it.

The Mage is out so maybe the thief then. Raw strength has never been a problem and sprints as well but the short based movements on the other side is a different thing. Picking a pocket isn't a skill I care for and same with archery because I have favored Morrowind's crossbow or the repeater made by the Bosmer. I don't remember the way to make one sadly but I know the information is out there and I want a crossbow over a regular bow but beggars faintly are choosers. Lock picking is hard to do with my shaking hands so I could do to learn that fast and I have forgotten the spell to unlock doors as well sadly. Sneaking is a cowardly but useful skill of any good walker of the shadows.

I was an assassin before and sneaking was a well-qualified skill to have that is until I was desired on the front lines instead of the shadows. Alchemy apparently falls under the skills of a thief now for some reason for almost 4000 years it was placed under the sign of The Mage but apparently thieves found it more useful than us magic users or maybe magic users started to convert to spellswords instead of the typical. Then again the art of the thief and magic are closely related after all many spells used in the past and today are from the clever minds of thieves. I am not the most social person ever as well. Thief seems like a good thing to go with.

The warrior is the best to choose for my progression in the way of the sword and making my sword as well as conditioning my equipment but I am sure I can handle myself without. Then again I lost a lot of my strength, both magical and physical, during my capture so maybe I should focus on that first instead and with my light fur boots sneaking isn't hard. My spells are point and shoot anyway so getting close isn't really required to hit you with my lightning or fire. My mage light is a good marker and any idiot can hide spinelessly in the dark. The moment you pass me with my light I can see you neck clear enough to slit it. Haven't been an assassin in maybe a hundred or so years. And so I stood between the Warrior and the Thief.

"Come on elf your taking too long." That was true the sun was going down and night time in Skyrim are infamous of having more wolves and tigers coming out along with many other beasts you don't want to meet in a dark alley. It might be something insane like a werewolf in the middle of the Imperial City in the diamond quarter of all places and the werewolf was a Bosmer of all things. Random acts of mischief and unfeasibility seem to follow me every which way I go.

Took me a long time to find a silver dagger in the rich side of the city because no one carried silver only iron. Even the silverware of every home was made of steel causing me to run faster than I even had before in search of silver. Punches and kicks infuriated it at best and my spells didn't work well because it was fast and agile enough like a Bosmer usually are to evade them. It was seeing red and I was the only target it saw that was green or whatever a berserking werewolf sees when it gets to hunting. In the end it was me, a single silver arrow, and a nearly broken bow that was between the two of us and my own death. I love long legs and that it was a mindless beast as well. I kicked it in the chest and in the neck and held it steady while I lines up my shoot. I pulled the string back and released. It struggled to cut me into chunks. It even pinned to the floor of the council table while the council was in one of its sessions. Fell in love with bow like weapons even more after that.

I turned to the thief then the thoughts of the orc berserk charge and the orc great sword come too thought as well and I turned back to the warrior. Memories poured into my mind and I was at a fork with no way of knowing which way to choose.

I rubbed my head and sighed.

didn't know which to choose so I did as I always did if I had a fork in the world. I drew a septim from my pocket and positioned it at my thumb. "Heads I take the warrior." I flipped the coin to the bare and clean other side. "No heads I go with the thief. The gods above will be in charge of my fate this time." I flicked it up and waited for it until I caught it in my closed fist. I brought it down and opened my hand to the see the result. My eyes widened at what I saw.


	3. Before the Storm

**CH.3-BEFORE THE STORM**

"The warrior, Aye." The nord nodded his head in approval as the stone glowed at my touch and rose to the sky in a beam of concentrated light. "You never stop surprising me elf." The light of stone faded and so did the stars above. I could feel my fighting abilities being blessed already just from pray to the powers that be. "I half thought you would choose mage." I rolled my eyes and stepped off of the stone stand that the standing stones stood on to the familiar mud and dirt of the path downward. "It's starting to get dark nord."

"Aye," he agreed and continued to lead the way to the town he couldn't stop talking about for the past hour in a half since leaving the cave and the last half an hour to the next marker. Some path to a cave I saw with men in fur and leather above. Bandit cave and I was curious about what I could find inside. That curiosity was trumped when Ralof brought up a sister named Gerdur but that curiosity faded when he said something about her having a husband. If I can help it, one sin I will not commit is adultery upon another's spouse and like I said IF I can help it.

There was this one time when the Lord of this one town's wife got a little too interested in me. It was after I saved the town only to get nothing but amnesty from the axe from my stealing of a fairly won sword from his son that the Mistress decided to repay me in her own way. Best night I have had in that part of my life for she knew exactly what she was doing and I didn't. I was just barely an adult then when I left the Academy of Sundermount in my home country too.

I stopped the nord and gestured to the top of the hill.

"Bandits." He summarized in one word.

"And they look a little too organized if you ask me." The way they patrolled was evidence of this fact. The ground was littered with foot prints of different shape, size, and depth.

"How far are we from Riverwood?"

"Another hour, two at the most. Why?"

"Those bandits and by the number of foot prints are here for a good reason and that town just might be it."

"You think they plan to attack the town," he realized in as much dismay as he felt rage. "Then we should kill them then before they can kill us."

"My thoughts exactly nord but stop," I held him back from charging up the hill like some sort of berserker only to get picked off by the many archers I saw above. "It is still day time so we should wait for night time nord."

"We should do this now," he physically insisted pushing me back but I will be damned if this nord will push me, an Altmer and one of the chosen, back in anyway. I growled and took his shoulder in hand and pushed while kicking his foot out from under him forcing him onto the ground. I mounted his chest with is axe in my hands held up ready to cut his scull down the middle.

"Ah, blast you elf!" The nord struggled but I had his arms between my legs easily and my weight on his chest. "You want to charge into the fray again and get killed then maybe I should save you the trouble nord and do it myself," I declared with the axe at the ready. "Stupid elf if they plan to...!" The axe came down and splashed stuff all over my face. I pulled the axe back out of the dirt from the side of the nords head with my nighteye causing my eyes to glow a red hue, from what I have heard, in a demonic sort of way. The nord froze and I ignored the bandits watching us from above.

"They are ten strong above surrounding the cave all with swords, daggers, bows, and loaded quivers. The moment you would have charged you would have been full of arrows and then finished by the foot soldiers. For all you know they have traps on the way up that's why they haven't investigated us. Just waiting for a foolish hot head of a nord to come charging like a damned fool." I sat back up and took to my feet. "So will you jump into your death after what we saw or listen to me seeing that I am the word of reason here now?" I tossed the axe up and caught it by the blade with the handle pointing toward the nord.

"We wait until dark, sneak in and kill them one by one on the outside, and them move inside and tear them apart. Makes sense nord?" The nord clenched his fist and grumbled. "Makes sense elf." Ralof took the handle in hand allowing me to pull him up for the hundredth time today. "When do we do it?"

I looked up to the sun. It was a little past noon so plenty of time to rest. "We get out of sight, we eat, and then we rest." Simple. "Aye," he agreed. "Let's get moving to the river and get out of sight then and get some food." I jumped down the hill. "I am hungry after all. Going days without food does that." My stomach grumbled as I dropped down to the river below through the trees and shrubs. I have seen many herbs and different things to pick up along the way with the rest I picked up as well in my pack and ate a good amount of them. I know it didn't kill me so that is something.

"If you see a rabbit nord use you bow. I will get us some fish." I jumped to the rocks and mud of the bank of the river. So much mud and rocks make up the land of Skyrim if it isn't snow and ice. At least it wasn't raining right now that was a high point I suppose.

Now as for the fish like most of the fresh water sources of Skyrim it has bass a think and worth catching if I can. I can't use my magicka… maybe. I have to do this lightly and easily.

I saw a log in the water and big enough to climb on as well. I jumped on top and laid down on the wet bark. Gods it was cold. I waited with my hands in the water and watched as the fish swam around the log instead of under because of me and my lack of staying still. I took a breath to stop my needless shaking. I was scaring the fish so calm down body getting antsy well not get you the food you want. I waited tolerantly as the fish progressively drew closer and closer to my hand as I wave my fingers in a noodle like worm almost and waited for them to get closer.

Mana burst from my stomach to my hands making them sparkle as well to attract more and more fish together in the group. As quick as a flash the faint magelight spell turned to a shock and burst in the small area into the fish all around my hands. Many swam away and I waited. One after anouther dead fish floated up to the top. At least five. Enough from me and maybe the Nord as well.

I reached down into the water again and picked them up and sat them on the log. Most are a good size and worth eating now I only have to clean and dress them. I jumped to my feet and used the strings of the tree I was on to make line and use it to carry them all. It took maybe a couple minutes to do it and jump off of the fallen tree to the bank. I really wish I took a dagger from one of those Imperials but they all had iron daggers and I don't use iron. I could practically feel my hand burn from touching that iron axe the nord had for only a moment of holding it. I reached back and unclipped my steel and let it naturally fall into my hand in regular grip.

I hate scaling and gutting fish but lucky for me these fish seem to be lacking in scales. I the sun was beginning to go down and around me darkness began to fall. I just finished gutting the watching the fish as well. I had maybe over three to four hours of sun left and had to hurry.

 **Growl**.

I froze at the feral and beast like growl I heard behind me. I heard it again with interest again and again getting louder and more ferocious. It sounded familiar. Flashes of that night in the Imperial city went thought my mind. Slowly I turned around careful not to make any unnecessary movements as well as sudden ones. Black fur and yellow bloodshot eyes. I sighed in relief as the beast I thought it was wasn't here behind me with a pack but instead was just some wolves. Three of them in fact.

"Damn wolves." I cursed and prepped my sword. I took a stance with the sword pointed downward and my offside to the wolves. They took the pouncing stance and growled at me again. My red eyes met their yellow ones. I won't use magic for the hunt will be a waste to use such. I am half tempted to drop my sword as well but seeing that foolishness and pride go hand in hand I reframed. I opened my closed fist and readied myself. "What are you waiting for?" I asked the small pack.

The largest looked at me and growled stepping forward. The alpha of the pack maybe and it was challenging me. This has been a very interesting day if the predators here think to challenge me for dominance. "Very well." I dropped my sword and my battle axe near the tree and hung up my fish as well. I have been challenged once or twice by animals before and always they are predators and always they see what most men don't. "Come on then Izae, I will test your strength." The wolf howled and pounced.

I rushed and met its charge head one. I felt fangs miss my neck but instead take my shoulder instead. My armor didn't cover the shoulders so fangs sunk in with razor sharp ease. I snarled in pain and lifted the wolf up. The beast was heavy and strong. I can see why it is alpha but I will not be challenged by beast and lose. Not today and not two centuries ago. I lifted up and the beast's hind led rose up and I slammed it right back down on my raised knee into the soft flesh in-between the rib cage. The wolf yelped and loosened its grip on my shoulder but it wasn't good enough. I smashed my fist into its neck and twisted around.

The wolf released my shoulder and flew to the tree but landed on top and jumped back at me. I moved forward and let it fly by me into the back and rushed it. I pounced the top of the wolf and wrapped my arms around its body and rolled taking it to the ground. Despite the wolf's size its flexibility proved to be proficient enough to twist in my grip now mounted on top of me. I moved my head over scarcely escaping the knife for fangs it hand. My long arms do not help much in my grappling make like they do for Orc but I made do with fingers I am born with. I pulled the wolf's head back and brought my elbow over across its head forcing it back and me on my side.

I rolled to my feet in a crouch and growled. The wolf shook its head and did the same glaring at me with even redder eyes than before. We prepped to pounce but this time I moved first. The wolf moved under me and in response I tucked my shoulder and rolled back to my crouch facing it. My senses went of telling me to drop and I did almost instantly. My back touched the ground as the wolf flew over me in a mid-pounce. I rose my leg and aim before firing it like a crossbow bolt into the wolf's chest forcing it back. My feet touched the dirt and I kicked up into a back roll to my feet again and took and stance. Both my hands are arched like they are claws and my feet are on their toes with bent legs ready to thrust forward in seconds. The wolf growled but its breathing was labored from the constant pounding its air ways took. I roared and moved toward my prey.

The wolf moved as well but I stopped and shifted to the side and waited as the wolf moved past me unable to change its movements in mid-thrust. I shot like an arrow into the wolf's side and pound it into the ground. I mounted the wolf with my knee its side and my hand at its neck ready to tear it open with my claws… I mean fingers. I ground when the wolf continued to struggle then punched it on the side of the head left of the eye. The wolf struggled still then stopped moving. I believed it might be dead for a moment then I heard it whine. Its red eyes turned back to yellow and it calmed down more and more unable to move from its pinned position.

I have won and it knew it.

I looked up to the other wolves and they backed away from me. I took a breath and stood up to my feet. The alpha wolf stayed there on the ground for a minute then got put more humbled than before. It backed away from me, having lost its will to fight, back to its fellows. I lifted my hands and felt my healing spell wash way the bite marks on my shoulder and reclaimed my things. I picked up my fish and stopped at the wolves the watched me as if waiting.

I sniffed the air and looked over to the side at the forest. I saw movement and the wolves instantly turned aggressive.

"Elf!" The man called and I relaxed. When I relaxed so did the wolves though they stayed vigilant. "Over here." I called. The sound of moving and rustling through the forest and in second the nord appeared from the side of the brush to me. "Elf I have the…" The nord froze when his noticed that Skyrim wolves, three of them in fact, are just right next to him within touching distance. Around his neck are about four rabbits and a bird of some sort. All bloody and fresh making the growls of the wolves more apparent.

"Ah," was the only intelligent thing he could think of to say and stepped back. "Don't worry." The nord looked over to me then back to the wolves. "Give two of those rabbits to them." I tossed three of my six bass to the wolves and grabbed two rabbits and tossed them to the wolves as well. Instantly they attack the food I gave them. I took the nord by the shoulder and walked him to the water. He looked back in disbelief at the wolves again then back to me.

"E-elf are those," he paused going silent for a second. "Yes," I answered and took the rest of those rabbit of his from him. "They are." The nord looked back to the wolves then back to me. "Why are they...?"

"Come on," I waved for him to come down. "Let's get this done." I gut the first rabbit and tossed and guts back to the wolves. "Right, it is just one of those elf things eh?"

"That's right. More strange elfy things you will continue to see if you're with me but never understand." Ralof took a deep breath and began plucking the feathers off the bird. He looked back to the wolves again and again.

"You should stop that," I advised dryly. "Stop what?" He asked in a confused tone. "They can smell fear and apprehension nord and you reek of it. Calm down." I rubbed my head at a sudden realization. "I am telling you that a lot huh nord? To calm down I mean." The nord sniggered. "You may be right elf. Maybe I am hungrier and tireder than I thought." I snort at the word he just made but didn't comment on it. "Well after we eat the wolves, you, and I can rest the get to business."

"How do you have a pack elf? I leave for an hour now you have a pack of wolves." I could answer with a smart remark the nord is to unintelligent to understand by my fatigue it starting to get the best of me so I did the next best thing. I shrugged. A more physical response that isn't even a response just a way to say "I don't feel like answering right now" than anything. One that the nord must have picked up when he dropped the subject murmuring about "strange elves" and "wolf milk" or something like that. I couldn't figure out his rumblings at all and didn't attempt to. I finished with my task and moved to gathering sticks and other wood to make a fire. One in conjunction with the one I see in the distance or maybe even next to it. I wonder just what is make a fire at the top of that place and looked up to top with strained eyes to nothing.

"What is it?" The nord walked up next to me and noticed the campfire or smoke in the distance across the river. "That looks like a good place to put up camp," I said more to myself than to the nord by my side. The nord was quiet for a moment and nodded. "I think so as well." I looked at him in surprise and how could I not. Most of the time he has been questioning me the entire way but now he decides to agree. Call me curious and suspicious now. "What?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Nothing."

I looked ahead and started into the water along the shallow path I found. "What do you think we might find up there?" The nord had to ask. "If we are lucky bandits." The nord gave me a look. "And if we ain't lucky?" I sighed at the first answer that came to mind. "A witch but what are the odds?"

We climbed up to the top of the hill and I almost gave at the shack that we saw at the top of the hill before the mountain began. The wolves behind me are growling at something they don't like and I can't blame them. The smell of human remains are in the air and the smell is both fresh and old. In the front of the shack I saw something that made me want to give up entirely on this journey. "Well," this old "harmless" looking old woman sitting in the front of the shake said as she waved at the five of us. "Ol' Anise is getting more visitors than before."

I looked at the woman then the nord. "You had to say something huh elf."

"Shut it nord."

If this hooded, necromancer garbed, and magicka adept old woman was not a witch then I am a blue mammoth drunk on skooma... and I'm not.

I checked out the surrounding area and saw signs of fighting here or there but suspiciously no bodies. The smell of blood and sword marks on a tree here or there is something that I would have to be an idiot not to notice. I am anything but an idiot as well. From what I could see visually this was your normal old woman just minding her own out in the middle of the woods. What I feel is a completely form that s woman is a different story. I can feel that she is more than she seems and stronger in the art of magicka than I am right now.

I feel that this woman has dabbled in a use of humans before or still is seeking that I have yet to see bodies or fire to burn them. I doubt animals took them seeing that there is a lack of pay prints or signs of dragging. Best not to get on this woman's bad side for now until I know what I dealing with. I cleared my throat and stepped forward.

"Afternoon." I greeted as politely as I could without sounding like I have cats scratching my throat. "Yes, yes it is." She responded not taking me by surprise. I expect a lot of unexpected answers from this lady before the night it over. "I am an Altmer and this is the Nord Ralph." I moved over and presented my still weary and growling wolves to her. "This is my small pack."

"Elf, Nord, wolves." She said back.

I nodded and continued. "We are wondering if we can use you land to camp for now. Maybe loan us some of your produce with the full promise of compensation later."

"I am just a poor old woman." I had to resist the urge to snort at that admission for this woman is anything but your ordinary old mountain woman that lives alone in a shack by the mountains. "I don't know what I can offer you."

"Just some time near your home, a cauldron if you are willing to provide us one, and no fireballs as well." The same bit came out all of the sudden making my eye twitch. My art of speaking to other people as seem to taken a side of the Annulment juice as well if I am putting out sudden outbursts like that. I waited for the fireball to come but it never did. Instead the one just sat there looking out to the trees. I looked around and back to her.

"Oy, elf." Ralof pushed us closer and stopped in front of her. "I get lonely sometimes." I waked my hand in front of her eyes to no response. "Old woman is senile." I came back up and looked to the cabin. "You can start the fire and I will get necessary ingredients nord."

"Are you sure about this?"

"It will be fine," I reassured but made sure to keep the wolves outside just encase the old bat gets a little squirrely and attacks. The Nord gave the old woman one last look before walking away. I sighed and walked into the cabin and knew instantly something wasn't right. Ignoring my feeling telling me to walk away I looked around for a second and spotted a good amount of alchemy components including a mort and pestle in the corner as well is a cauldron that needed the inside cleaned a little but it will be fine. Fire grew in my hands and shot into the cauldron.

"There," I grunted as I took the hot cauldron in hand and strolled outside to the fire that Ralof prepped. My wolves are lying in wait for the old woman to do something but still she was sitting on the chair in the front of her shack. I stopped at her fire and placed the stand over the fire then the pot to be used.

"I don't like this elf," the nord voiced as her poured water in to the pot. "It will be fine.," I said again. "Elf," the nord said again with a little more potency. "That old crone is a witch. Even I can see it and you saw the missing bodies." The nord looked back to the woman in a glance. "She might summon ghosts or undead."

"If," I pronounced quietly. "If I may say again, she is a witch and a necromancer but we will be fine. You have an iron axe and I my silverite sword. Aim for the head if you can and if not the limbs. Trying to inflict body damage will only waste energy."

"We can avoid that just by leaving elf so lets go…" The nord stood up to his feet. "Sit down," I whispered and pulled him down back into a crouch. "What are you…?" I took his head and turned it over to the woods by the cabin. "Focus on the darkness nord. On the shadows under the trees." The nord frowned but did as I asked and focused on the shadow. He focused enough to see exactly what I saw when I left the cabin. The shadows are moving. Signs of faces filled with pain and anguish litter every single shadow around us. I had to hold the nord back from making extremely sudden movement.

"What the...!"

"Those are the reason we can't leave nord. We are in the web of a necromancer and those are her silky strings keeping us trapped in web of hers . We cannot leave yet until sun up but before then we might end up joining the restless dead. That leaves us with only one option for we can't leave..." "Until the ghost user is dead," he finished. "Yes." I glanced back to the woman and frowned. "All necromancer and conjures have one thing in come nord."

"That would be?"

"A focus. One I couldn't find during my search of the house as well. I would have noticed a damn table with human hearts and parts on it along with black soul gems but it seems I am not that lucky. But it has to be in the cabin somewhere and if not the cabin itself then maybe somewhere else close by. I noticed a trapdoor in the cabin so more than likely it is in there."

"What happens when you break this focus thing?"

"A great amount of her power will be taken from her but she is able to conjure still. Something tells me when I go into her secret compartment under her cabin she will become hostile and attack. Avoid her as much as you can and when I turned that focus upside down you move in to kill her."

"Are you sure this will work?" I shook my head with a stir of the mixture in the pot. "It will make her wraiths disappear but what she conjures after that is all her." The nord took a bowl of the broth I made and scarfed it down. "Eat for now and in an hour I will make my move. Stay by the fire and don't divulge into the shadows. Darkness is not your friend." The graveness of my tone made the nord eat fast and fast. I hummed at his stress eating and just followed.

The broth was a mixture of potatoes, leeks, mountain flowers, rabbits, and a couple… bugs I found in the cabin though I didn't tell the nord. With their meat eater lifestyle best to not tell them what they are eating out of fear that they my flip. I closed my eyes and rested for a moment. The cauldron was empty for what we didn't eat I gave way to the wolves. The fire was alive and grew a little larger from wait it was before pushing back the shadows grown shadows around us. I could feel my body reacting to the undead wraiths around me. They are reaching out to me but the fire will not allow them to. They are kept back away from me but they always chase after me.

Ever since I left the Psijic Order they've hound me like that one light in the darkness. Now that death take them violently they begging for a second chance at life. Our lives. My time in dabbling in Necromancy will always be one of my greatest regrets. And the time in the order has left its mark on me. Just like this old woman she is more than likely part of the Order or was just like me that is why the spirits she's able to summon resonate with me and my body. They wish to enter again and turn me into a wraith.

Not this time and never again; especially the spirits of a group of nords and Imperials. By the Divine , he souls and spirits of humans are just so finite and mortal that it makes me feel like a water flask holding acid in it. So disgusting and repulsive those souls are. Human souls are useful for one thing and that is for enchanting my armor and my weapons. Other than that the Divine and the Daedric princes' can have their human souls because I don't want them in my realm, in my body, or in the realm in my head either. In soul gems on the other hand I have no problem putting a disgusting set of lights that are human souls in a box for later conservative use.

Now the souls of a fellow elf or even one of the beast races on the other hands always come with more positive side effects than the human ones. Fellow Altmer or even other races of elves I have found around the world as well. I heard that snow elves exist here and would like to see at least one and shake his hand for surviving the death of the rest of his kind. Maybe I will meet an ancient Vampire here whose soul I can take thankfully because of my time in the Psijic Order. Taking the souls of a Daedric Lords little pets is not easy, actually close to impossible actually, but there are loop holes for everything. Make it so the soul no longer is bound to the Daedric Prince of Domination and instead is bound to something else like me. Having souls pass through my body again and again has its effect on you the more you do it like turning you into a wraith, a lich, or worst still a walking corpse without a mind to be had.

Walking corpses are farther from human than any other mortal humanoid in this world. I just need to breathe and calm down so not to get those things in me. I hate it when spirits try to enter my body. It's almost something akin to rape for example when a yearlong frustrated bandit gets his hand on a pretty woman and inserts without permission is sort of like that. Only difference is that I am penetrated in multiple angles by something colder and more desperate than any man could ever be. Sex is something any man can get when he is able but a warm physical body is something the dead will never have at any time but what they both have in common is that it doesn't stop them from trying.

I shivered at the thought. I haven't had a living man's spirit in me for a long time and same for a something other than human soul as well. The shadows are starting to cover us with the twilight of the sunlight pointed on our position. We have maybe a good thirty minutes of light in this place so now is better than time than any.

I stood up and pat the nord's shoulder.

"You ready?" The nord swallowed a mouth full of water and coughed it up. I rose an eyebrow and helped him up. He saw the look I am giving him and chuckled. "Wish I had some ale." I nodded and reached into my knapsack. "Catch." I tossed him a bottle of orcish brandy and walked way. I didn't get that far before I heard him yell, "Damn you ELF!"

Berserking nords are nothing without their alcohol and just water doesn't do for them. I have seen this sort of thing many times again and again when it came to men like him I found out quickly that without it they are weaker and slower than the typical nord. It is almost comical even to see them clumsily move around and swing there axes without any sort of drunken impaired coordination to aid them. In their endeavor. How do you fight drunk in the first time anyway. Nords can do it and Red Guards can't. That is how the world works I suppose.

I entered the cabin in a crouch. The woman was right now doing something in the garden of hers giving me ample time to sneak in and bust out the lock picks. Though the book on alchemy I sort of found and skimmed though right away was interesting enough. Spending time to learn how to read an elder scroll is hard so reading a three hundred page book in in under two minutes is child's play for me. I tossed the book finding the information about poisons and night lock to be interesting enough. Now off to the cellar. The lock was easy enough to get open I suppose. On the bright side I didn't break my pick at least. I only have three left from all the locks I picked in the keep as well to get reacquainted with the steady hand thing I wasn't really used too not that I ever was used too it to begin with.

I took to my feet after it was do and opened the door. I forced down my gagging reflex at the smell. It was nothing new it being the smell of decaying body parts and all but still the smell is still disgusting. She literally didn't have ventilation in her little cellar because just how concentrated the smell is it must be the case. I coughed softly to myself. This woman cannot be that ignorant as to let something like this happen and let the bodies or parts inside.

Damn necromancers that are not part of the order. At least in the order they show you how to service the bodies and preserve them but instead we have this damned woman that can't seem to do the right thing and respect the dead. Maybe that is why there are so many of the dead left without rest.

I rose my shirt up through my armor over my nose and covered that with a rag I snagged as well. It didn't work all that well but it worked well enough to help me contain my gagging for now. I jumped down into the darkness of the cellar and took one good look at nothing for it was darker than it was outside. The two lanterns on the two sides are dim and barely illuminating the room at all leaving me in the dark. I could see a greenish light around a corner to the front most wall to the right. I sighed and closed my eyes.

My hand rose up and glowed purple in an old alteration spell that altered my eyes from the red Altmer to a more silvery Khajiit kind. I opened my newest eyes to brighter lights with the darkness all covered into shades of blue. 'Nighteye,' I thought as the spell took effect.

Bodies are on the floor right in front of me dirtying the entire side and it just so happen to have a table on top of it all with a couple heart and hands on it along with sigils as well. On top was a knife stabbed into the top center of the table. I walked over to it and reached for it but not to touch it. I had to check to see if there are any enchantments and curses on it.

Cursed weapons pack a punch and not a good one at that. I have been cursed once or twice give or take a hundred or so times and don't like to deal with that curses if I can. I don't really have anything to take the curse off of me though and the best way to get over a curse is to kill the person that placed it on the item or the weapon. It was a ceremonial dagger I can tell for it has many different types of etchings along the grip and the blade as well. It was ebony in make and sort of reminded me of the more Elvish form of a Dagger of Martyr that the Order uses whenever they wish place a mortal soul in a gem. This one is much more… absent of a more willing soul than anything. The Dagger of Martyr contain a soul of a willing participant.

Sometimes tortured until they became compliant and the one inside this dagger wasn't compliant more like forced into the dagger more than anything. It was not of the people because of how low the light inside of the charge is. It is not of a beast either because it doesn't have the exotic feel to it. It must be of one of the Stormcloaks or maybe an Imperial soldier. By the look of the five bodies around me and the only one with a stab wound in the heart that happened to be a female Stormcloak it is her soul that was forcibly yanked out from her body into this… Dagger of Sacrifice.

I leaned down and turned to woman over with a sigh. I looked the woman over into darker dark blue eyes that did carry life but no more. She has still black unruly and long hair falling down to her shoulders. She still has those three scars on her face. Two at her cheeks and one at her chin. The female Nord Stormcloak from before and she looked worse for wear. Her armor showed shows of cuts and burns from top to bottom. She fought the entire time and made it here just to be sacrificed by some old bitch in the woods. I closed the eyes of her soulless body and lifted her up to the table. "

You are the medium and the dagger has your soul in it doesn't it. You are fighting still even in death." I laid the body of the woman on the table. Out of the rest of the bodies and cleared to table of everything else. I looked over too to stab wound to see just how deep I will have to go to save her soul. By the looks of it she was stabbed at her heart. If not from the small moving of her chest I might have not seen it…Wait, what!

I quickly placed my hands at her neck and felt down to her jugular vein and closed my eyes. I waited for a couple moments until I felt my fingers move up then back down. She has a heartbeat! This amazing woman with the strongest will to live I have seen in the last decade is still alive. Her heart beat is weak and progressively getting weaker but it is still there. This changes everything and makes things even more complicated than before. I rose my hands up and prayed to the Divine Mara to bless me with her power. I took a hard breath and got to work. A bright light grew in my hands and slowly I laid them upon her body.

The woman hitched her breath and I almost believed she was awake but I know her soul isn't in her body and yet it is still tethered to it. This will make the ride easier but the problem lies in if the soul will be able to enter the body. If the body doesn't have the energy to hold the soul then worst case scenario she will not only die physically but her soul will be forced to remain in the far plane at this house. So with enough time she will go mad and become a wraith that prays on the living and I refuse to allow that to happen. I need to heal her body the best I can in my current condition but also I have to weaken the curse placed on the cut upon her breast.

It missed her heart.

The witch up top must have been in the hurry to kill this one and the only reason she would do that is if she was about to have some unexpected company. This woman is lucky I am here or I arrived when I did. I took another breath in the form of a relieved sigh. My spell was working and I could hear the rhythm of her heartbeat growing progressively louder with each passing second. The curse though was taking it back fast and I had to hurry and weaken it. I needed a couple ingredients that I don't have like a daedra heart and some ninroot.

I looked around and spotted and heart with a red haze over it and walked up to it. This woman actually has a heart of a daedra in her basement along with other things any alchemist would pay to get their hands on. I mused over how the witch necro got her claws on most of this but left it for later to think of. I found a good amount of alchemy tools to use and quickly got to work on the salve. My fire spell heated the iron continuously and with my free hand used the levitation spell to bring things to me like mana potions or ingredient to add to the salve and the potion to help this woman. Even with most of my knowledge blocked I had access to some of the smaller thing spell and potion making of the Expert branch. My body remembers a good portion of what to do and I can sort of remember what I needed. The annulment sealed so much of my mind away from me but low ranking spells are slowly coming back to me.

"Leua oda mas." 'Lift towards me,' a simple incantation for a low ranked levitation spell. Before I could remember I could lift a house with my spell power and complex incantations if I wanted to but now I am struggling just to lift something as light as a flower. The fact as well that I tied my own life and soul to her with constant spell traps doesn't help as well. Little by little I am feeling weakened from the partial soul trap so to give my own life energy to fuel the curse. The hole in my chest from the curse it making this most difficult to do. I took heavy breaths the entire time and my vision swirled but I finished quickly, thank the Nine Divine. I

pushed off of the alchemy table with the salve in hand and wobbled over to the beautiful woman. "You have to help me release the rest of them." I grabbed my book and opened it to the simplest of soultrap spells, the one that required touch, and sat down in front of the focus. "Why did it have to be you that was the focus I wonder?" I sighed with a rub through my hair. "Was it some sick twisted act of the gods to do this? A test for me personally to force me to my limits not only mentally but physically?" I sniggered forlornly. "I get close to someone and they show interest then they suffer a fate worse than death and it up to me so change that but unlike the previous ones I am going to save not only your soul but your life."

I applied the curse dampening salve on her wound and the one on my chest that mirrors hers as well. The dagger glowed from the lost of its power flow and began to push back against me. I held fast as hands glowed into a soul trap. Even if the soul is removed from the body the spirit is always tethered to the original physical body. It will be a very bad trip for herself and myself for I am going to have to connect a tether from her body to my own and thus allow my own soul to follow that connection from my body to her body and finally to her soul inside this knife and back. As long as the spell holds fast and I don't run out of mana before I can release her from the dagger it will be okay.

I touched the area she was stabbed with my left just to make sure is was her inside. My cat eyes faded but I didn't need them anymore anyway. I could see the string leading from her body to the edge of the knife. Depending on your personality and more heretical stand point you could be situated in the pommel, the grip, the tip, or in the edge of a blade you are forced into to make an enchantment work. Because the soul is unwilling it wishes for oblivion more than anything and because of this enchantments on a weapon never last. If souls people are anything they are versatile. Able to adapt and grow given the right situation and circumstances but if a person wishes to live so does the soul thus causing it to grow and become stronger. If the souls wishes to die it will go to oblivion after a time. The woman in this gem is fighting the curse of the Focus placed on her. The enchantments that take her soul's power little by little will eventually break her and she will be consumed by the magic.

The rejuvenation of her body is starting to take its mark on her soul and the only good thing I find is that the body is this closer to her soul instead of a league away. There is still time to save her soul from the plane of oblivion her soul is now tied too instead of Sovngarde where it belongs for her bravery. Most souls the moment they enter a gem are torn asunder in more ways than one but she was transferred from her body to a dagger instead of to a gem then the dagger meaning the connection was never fully severed. I know from experience that it must have been painful. My time in the Psijic Order didn't leave me without a good amount of knowledge on advanced variation of soul trap. That's why I have my tome after all.

I pressed my right hand to my chest and bit my tongue. The Soul Tether is like sticking a sword into your chest in different places and twisting it around repeatedly. I took a breath and looked down to the line as it trailed up my arm to my heart and then my stomach. I pushed off of the body and felt the presence of the woman and she as in pain. It hurt so much. I hate tethering tortured souls to my own body and soul when I don't have to. Now for the Soul Transfer, and with it I can partially trap my soul from one place to the next but god is it going to be an unpleasant feeling. I took a breath and took the handle of the dagger and her chest in the other hand. "Here we go." The ride down is much easier than things I have to do to get on.

A/N: Another chapter down and the other one is in process with a little more tweaking. I'm eager for some ideas to add on or some flames here or there so let me hear it. Be patient and the next chapter will be coming soon.


	4. Between the Veil

**Chapter 4: Between the Veil**

I was falling down head first towards the void below. I looked around the darkness and the nothingness that is inside this dagger to nothing around me at all. No sign of the tether or a hint of the woman being her. All I can see is black everywhere. This isn't good if this world if all black. That means the woman's soul is just about spent so I have to hurry for time is of the essence.

I rose my hands and pushed them down towards the darkness I was falling in and pushed mana into my palms. Slowly but surely my decent began to slow and my feet begin to feet heavy enough to flip me over until my feet faced downwards. Once I began to is mana I took notice of a small surface below me I continuously fell though and yet felt nothing from it. Panel after panel I broke through each and everyone and until finally I stopped on top of one slow enough to not bash through accidentally. I looked up and rose one of my hands but saw nothing.

"Paradox loop," I said to myself. Some souls are powerful enough to have what I like to call floors and depending on how intone this soul is with magicka they may have ten floors. Those of Nordic ancestry that see magicka as forbidden at times normal have three at the most and this woman has only one. The floors within the knife reflect the potential of the soul contained within and hers is mainly physical in nature, which is a shame but typical for this savage race of ignorant barbarians. Though I'm in the process of saving the life and soul of one of this barbaric mortals with the risk of my own life and soul. Maybe I'm just as ignorant as them at time. Or maybe I'm my father's son.

What am I even standing on? It's just void with no sort of path around me but my feet are touching surface. I rose my hand up and pushed the magelight forwards to illuminate the path for it reflected the light well. The path does have borders for I shifted my light left and found nothing to show. To my right though I found plenty for me to walk across of.

I began walking to the right and using my magelight to assist me with navigating the floor. I could do nothing but walk straight on with my hand up to my chest. I pushed out a pulse so could pinpoint where she is in this dark world within the dagger. Its simple spirit echolocation. Once the pulse from my soul hits hers the wave will bounce back and hit me pointing me in the right direction she happened to be. Because of the borders and edges I've met with I've been forced to detour a far amount of times but slowly but surely I'm getting there. I can feel my tether calling to the soul in this blade and right now that tether was beginning to loosen. Her soul is seconds from breaking. I am surprised that she has been able last this long but she seems to be on her last leg. I have to hurry and that thought pushed me into a full sprint. I have to hurry anyway. The partial soul trap forced me to hurry anyway. I can hold for a little while long but not much longer.

"By the Divine," I cursed when I reached this soul in the blade. She was in worse shape than I thought possible. Most of the time a soul once it loses connection with its physical body turns into a simple power source that goes out eventually, but seeing that her body is still alive along with her soul linked with my own the power of the dagger is working hard to consume her and myself. Unlike her, I have freedom to move right now seeing that I am not in constraints like her. This woman will never stop making me fall for her. Her body right now is suspended up above me with dark chains hooked into her arms and legs with eyes that are turning a dull grey blue but still she struggled to rip her own limps from the chains and escape.

Such unbridled willpower… I wouldn't mind having a child with such will to survive even if it's from a nord. Maybe I could have at least one bastard I'd pick up after two years until it's mature enough to manifest its magicka. These thoughts are wrong for the situation though and for all I know it could end up taking after her likeness and not mine. I don't plan to use magicka in our Joining either like my father did so I would be born Altmer. That would take away from the mysticism of the birth.

I sighed and drew my sword. Those chains are draining her of all of her life blood little by little and draining her of all of her strength. Once I cut them I will have to apply my tether to her soul and feed her the necessary Kivîst to keep her alive. I have much to spare despite my earlier exploits.

As I approached the woman looked aware enough to see through the darkness and to my surprise she remembered me. "Elf," she said in a tired tone. "Of all the things to see I have to see that lecherous elf that eyed me up." The woman chuckled and shook her head then gasped from the pain. "Of course the first man that looks at me not at all put off by my appearance is an elf and that same elf comes to see me like this. Must be a joke of Talos or something for failing in the way I did. How disgraceful." I walked up to her and slashed the first chain which held her legs chain to what should be the ground. She was hysterical right now and the never ending agony she was suffering right now did nothing for her mental state.

I cut the second chain at her other leg and watched it disappear into the blackness. The woman chuckled but it became more in the form of a cough. "Why are you here?" She asked finally meeting my eyes with her own. She hadn't yet noticed me freeing her yet. I had to hurry. "Did the witch kill you too?"

I shook my head. "No." I jumped and cut the last two of the chains until she dropped down to her feet. I touched down after her but I was fast enough to catch her by her waist and sit her down on the floor. I sat down and held the tethered soul to my own.

"W-why are you here?" She asked again with little energy behind her words.

"To save you of course." I pulled the rag out from my pocket and carefully wiped the blood from her face. I can empower her soul with my own more easily and by the looks of it she needs it. I took a breath and rose my hand to the pair of medallions hanging from my neck, the soul ties, and pulled one off my neck and placed it around her naked neck. A bright light purple light glowed in my hands and I brought it down to her chest. The woman gripped my arm with a frail grip at best and growled the best she could. Even now she fights.

"What are you…?"

"Trying to help you," I answered ahead of her. The nord looked into my eyes and I looked into her own. Her arm fell down to the floor giving me an exhausted go ahead.

"Okay," she gave in thankfully.

I pressed my hand on her naked chest and pulled down the natural path of the soul down to her stomach. Her soul glowed being fed and recharged by my own via the connection from our twin medallions. As the light died down it revealed to me her, fully recovered without all the holes in her body or bruises as well, and back in her clothing. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and picked her up in my arms.

The woman looked herself over and sighed as well. She looked up to me in disbelief at what just happened then away from me into the nothingness surrounding us. "Thanks elf," she murmured quietly but still I heard it. There's not much loud noises here to prevent me from hearing her anyway other than the rattling of what sounds like chains. I turned back to the area that I had cut her down from and found the chains falling from above and sighed int towards me. The chains from before without their power source reached out towards the next best thing.

Me.

I growled when I saw the blackness slowly beginning to cover me and turned around to run. "Hang on," I warned the woman.

She looked back behind me and grunted, "Oh saber humping shooma snorter!" I looked down to her and she chuckled nervously then looked away. Her arms though tightened over my neck as I evaded the chains that threatened to ensnare the both of us for the spell to hold. The longer I ran away the more frantic the chains became in their assault.

"Kala ta paherdon!" A shroud of fire encased the two of us and melted away a couple of the dark chains that got to close but they fed on the power I released to save myself. Power that I barely have enough of as it is.

"Elf go left!" Without hesitation I shifted us both left. Chains hammered down on the spot I was in previously and over to the right as well.

I looked back and sighed. "Good eye," I complimented and kept going. Suddenly the chain whirled around us but I stayed the course to the line I saw in the distance. Lucky for m the path I illuminated on the way to her still glowing faintly enough for me to see. Enough to reach the edge of our subconscious. I thanked the gods above when I saw that line, I can't forget it. The purple line that separated the dagger from her body and I wasn't about to be trapped here. I felt enough in me for one more spell but needed a hand.

I opened my hand at her legs and focused the best I could as a white light grew in my hands. One of the things I excelled at, being one of the reasons I was held in such high regard from my family, is my ability to mold spells together. The stars guide my hand as a light of white turned orange then blue. A fire that few have seen in the last century. I looked up to the whirlwind of chains as they shot towards me.

"Elf!"

I opened the palm of my hand then closed it. An orb of blue rose up above me then shot toward the chains. The orb hit the chains and like a mage light that power in the core spread around it but like a fireball it took to flames and burned everything it licked. Firefly is what decided to call the spell once I created it and like a large swarm of fireflies the light like fire shined everywhere. It was so strong that it even attracted the chains away from me. I pushed my remaining soul's mana into a power charge as the wall came closer to me. With one full powered push I was through the boundary and slowed down to a small walk panting like I had just run straight up for ten minutes. Technically I did because I fell down from the exit and had to make my way back up somehow.

I looked back for a moment and saw the light die out. The chain frenzied and rushed towards me only for the wall to stop them in their tracks. I sneered at the chains before walking away from the blade further into another that she wasn't forced into. A part she belonged inside of. Her own body.

"You did it! You saved me?" I shrugged. "Why did you save me Elf?" She clenched my shoulders as I walked closer to where her soul should be. "I hate your kind so why would you, a high elf, even think about saving me?"

"Because you are appealing to me," I answered truthfully. The woman's eyes shot opened at my words and searched my own for any proof that I might be lying.

"I am appealing to you? I'm a nord you stupid knife ear," she roared with that fire in her eyes that first drew me to her. I would love to make that fire dwindle and heel to me but that's a different part of me talking that I don't wish to admit openly. "How could you wish to court me?"

"You're a filthy and barbaric nord," I retorted right back to her making the woman frown. "But," I rose my finger up. "I like you and in more ways than one. I am so impressed by the power of your very being. Being ripped from your body then thrust into a dagger and yet surviving. That's impressive." If I could have a son with a soul that powerful meshed with my magical prowess he would be Archmage during his adolescence.

The woman must have remembered the feeling of having the dagger stab into her body. She touched her chest as the right were her heart is and gripped the medallion tightly. "Am I… dead?"

"No." The woman shook her head in denial. "Your physical body is still alive and I have healed that stab wound from the Necromancer."

"But where am I? Where are we…? You can put me down you know."

"We are inside of you." In one last step and darkness faded away and what replaced with was a frozen tundra with mountain behind me and a river to my right. I was walking on a past by the looks of it toward a warmer area up head. The woman shot her eyes around and gasp.

"But how?" She asked loudly to which I had to bite my teeth at the loud sound.

"That witch is a necromancer and she sealed your soul into a dagger made of soul gems."

"Soul gems? You mean that magic stone that glows and makes a good candle light." Stupid and foolish barbaric nords. Using perfectly good soul gems as night lights. Why am I so surprised right now because even I have used it as a makeshift light before. But still she believes that is the only function for it?

I took a breath to hold back my snark and answered, "Yes, like those stones but the only reason they glow is because of the soul that is trapped within them."

"What?!" The woman screamed. "You are telling me that for as long as I can remember I was holding a stone with a man's soul in it!"

"Well, no because if it was a normal soul gem then that means it was an animal not a human. Human souls can only be trapped in black soul gems after a ritual to corrupt them."

The woman groaned, "This is why I hate magic and your kind's trickery. It's never so simple like a sword or an axe. It is what it is not all this complicated stuff." She said roughly. "And you still haven't placed me down!"

I snorted loudly to cover my mocking laughter for the woman. "That is the nature of magicka. It is only limited by the mind of the caster." I noticed her moments from strangling me so I leaned down and placed her on her feet. Suddenly, the woman took my collar in hand and glared dangerously at me.

"You calling me stupid." How did she come to this conclusion out of what I said? "You better not be calling me stupid," she warned harshly.

"Ignorant yes, stupid no." The woman blinked.

"What does that mean? Ingonorant?"

"It's pronounced ignorant and it means that I know more of a certain subject than you do. You probably know more about farming so I am ignorant in that regard while it when it comes to magicka and its applications I am of a higher knowledge base."

The woman clicked her tongue then shrugged. "As long as you aren't calling me stupid. I have killed for less."

"I am sure you have," I said dryly. I killed a man in a fist fight once just for denouncing my mother without good reason. You don't disrespect the family, especially that of my noble house.

"Anyway the dagger is a soul gem that had your soul in it and acts as the focus for the powers the witch has been using to fuel her wards."

The woman was silent again and nodded. "That is why I felt so… drained. It has felt like eternity since I was in chains just bleeding out. At first it was draining me and I couldn't take it then those chains took me." The woman snort and cupped her forehead, "It was so dark," she sobbed hugging herself as if to keep warm. She's showing me a small moment of weakness and I can't blame her. When my soul was ripped in two through impossible magicka and spells fear doesn't come close to what I felt during the years that followed.

"You an amazing woman to last as long as you did for me to reach you." I stepped into a new and more refined part of the woman with more life and trees but still in the cold even though I could just barely feel it. That was an improvement to what it was before and the shadows of her world are slowly filling up. "You suffered a torture that only few can come out of without losing your mind. You had your soul trapped and your tether to your body was seconds from breaking."

"Tether?"

"Yes, the body and soul are forever tethered to each other by a connection that if broken the soul begins to shift into something else. That was you almost but as I said I found you alive still, if barely. I was able to heal your body and weaken the curse of the dagger on your chest but also had to join my tether with yours as I got things ready."

"So that's what that was? I could feel something giving me strength and whispering me to hold on. That was you?"

I nodded. "I used a special variation of soul trap to share the burden of the curse by making a temporary tether to my own body and soul. It was completed when I placed that medallion around your neck that mirrors mine."

"You mean I am connected to you elf?" The woman looked down to her chest and starred hard at the magenta metal in her hand.

"Yes." The woman groaned and palmed her face. "Great that same elf that eyed me up and saved my soul and body is also tethered to me or something witchcraft like that."

"It saved you though nord and I didn't want to see a jewel like you lose your luster."

"Ha," she chuckled, "There you go again. Why are you trying to court me elf? It would never work out."

Courtship? I never thought of that. I have spent a good majority of my time traveling and any woman I found myself with never lasted long enough that I had the chance to court them, but maybe needless flirting and compliments are sure fire signs of courting in the land of skyrim. Of all my years I have been around many of the countries here in Tamriel but never has a woman asked me if I wished to court them just because of a compliment. Now that I think of it I have never been married before even though I have told my mother many times is was only a matter of time. I can't really face my parents or my elders or my elder parents unless I bring home some sort of woman I am committed to. Could it be this nord with a strong will to resist until nothing is left and even past a state of death? I don't believe so.

I mean she not exactly womanly like my mother wishes to see me with or one of the people even, but my father told me he doesn't care for things like race. His traditions aren't about remaining pure bloods but enhancing the rate of highly exemplary children from one generation to the next. His mother was a Breton after all and his great grandfather an Orc but she has to be able to bear some strong children not only physically but spiritually as well, but its not easy to find a strong woman with magical prowess like he wishes to see like my mother. Her sword play was frightening fast and she could beat a six in a half foot orc in a fist fight. If I could lift a house with my magic she could lift a mansion. My father like me was attracted to that and honestly I can see why. Finding a way to dominate a women with such bearing is a fitting challenge any Vanirial is willing to take, if he's sane.

My eyes flowed along the woman's ever curve and feature and in the end I decided this would be a trivial challenge at best in the long run. "I wouldn't mind having your body but courtship isn't what I have in mind for you."

"What!" My collar was taken up and before I knew it I was in the air with the woman lifting me straight up and glaring long swords at me. "All you want is my body you debauched bastard!" The woman rose me up high until my feet could no longer touch the ground. I didn't feel any offense for this act of aggression for even if she was stronger than me currently in her mind and body I still had magic on my side.

"I was only being truthful. I don't wish to court you but anything other than that I would like to do with you. It would by my pleasure to show you how to pleasure a man if you wish because I can tell that a woman of your…character has trouble with getting men to become attracted to you."

"W-what?" I have seen many woman like you before with your persona. The tough female that most men don't really like to see because you happen to be hardier than most men. Even the other nord warned me about you and how you will eat me alive."

"Oh," the woman narrowed her eyes at me.

"Regardless of our potential mating as you can see you are no longer fueling the curse that gives the witch its power slowly the more we get away from that wall your connection to the blade and its enchantments weaken. You know…away from the chains."

The woman shivered. "So no more chains then?"

"No," I waved for her to follow me now that she was able to stand on her own. "But it wasn't for me you would have eventually faded way to oblivion."

"I would have pass on… maybe to… Sovngarde?"

I shook my head. "You have been placed as a sacrifice in the nine divine's world so no. Your soul would have been marked to go to oblivion to Boethiah the Daedric Prince of deceit, conspiracy, treachery and sedition and trust me you do not want to go there. The way enchantments work and how long they last depend on the one sealed inside. You survived long enough for me to reach you and return you to your body."

A light began to spread and light up the world inside the blade into something like a grassland with a river through it, a mountain in the distance, and a windmill up head. "I owe you more than I thought then elf. You actually brought me home."

I nodded. "You see you are beginning to take control of your world."

The woman stopped then looked back at me. "Am I dreaming?" We walked to the windmill and the house in the distance. It looked ordinary at best and nothing big or small.

"You could say that… Anya."

The woman's expression turned from serene to stunned. "You know my name?"

"Ralof told me."

She scoffed and pulled me along. "That idiot huh? Continue please."

"The man is a little hard to get used too but once I got him to stop talking it wasn't so bad then." Anya smiled and punched my arm.

"You know you're alright for an elf."

"You should see me in the bedroom." I was punched again but with a little more force making me grunt.

"Continue."

"Alright," I rubbed my shoulder. I think I'm going to have a bruise on my spirit body after this. "What was I talking about again? Enchantments before all of this right? You see when a soul is partial soul trapped into a gem without a proper anchor back to the body it leaves the soul to be frail or weakened. If you fight an enchantment it will kill you eventual and by force as you felt before."

"But if you don't it will kill me anyway right?"

"No it won't."

"But you said…"

"I said it all depends on you and if you accept the pull. Some souls when trapped actually accept the trap. The soul and body are closely related because the soul is just like the body. It grows and adapts in time so what power you are used for if you don't fight the enchantments you grow to restore that power you lost previously. Other cases of souls sealed in the void or trapped as some call it is when the original soul can be feed more souls to become stronger and in one case I was there to witness a man sealed in a gem get so much power that he escaped and became a Lich once he was out."

"That's how enchantment works? The thing fights it dies and if it doesn't it lives only to become a monster in the end?"

"Easy," I praised her understanding. I sat down at her table and with a sigh. "So what sort of curse or enchantment does this… blade use?"

"The curse was meant to hold the wraiths around her cabin down as well as shove anyone that touches this blade inside it. That is one reason why I didn't lose magicka to get inside and barely any to get you free from that curse. I broke what was holding the focus and the curse together but freeing you from your bounds. As for the enchantments it is meant to increase magical proficiency meaning it costs less to use over most spells. One more thing it has to do with soul trap as well. If need be I will used it to help you by transferring the souls of anyone I see that deserved to die." "Like sealing them inside this dagger like I was including that one piece of mudcrab."

"Yes." I nodded when the woman smirked. I know that look anywhere. "A dagger made out of a mixture of ebony and black soul gems is simply amazing and very sharp. With any form of soul trap someone can be sucked into the dagger."

"What I find amazing is the depth you went to save me and not ask for something in return so why are you doing this? What do you want?" I looked up and took a breath.

"As I said before I wish to finalize this little spell by you letting me take you to bed."

The woman blinked and I took it negatively. "You are actually serious?"

"I know you feel off about this but me asking this but its necessary. You see once we meld together our souls we enter a detraction phase. I'm positive and your the negative. Once we come together we will become alike and so bounce away from each other. I'll return to my body and you'll stay here with your soul in tact able to live once more in the physical realm."

"But your..."

"No one will know," I said easily. "We are inside of you and until we become alike I can't bounce back to my body and exit and you can't take the reins and live anymore." The nord's eyes wided and she appeared perturbed by this fact. It seems that she has not choice but to join with me or all of this would have been for nothing. I would have though for a nord that she'd be more straight forward and less hesitate. "And like I said before no one will know and the sooner I leave the ummm!" I groaned as I felt a comfortable weight on my lap. I felt her take my cheeks in face and turn my eyes up with a smirk. I gulped which made her smile grow.

"I didn't know souls could do this but it feels real enough." Anya pulled off of her shirt. My eyes shoot open. "With an elf," she chuckled. "Who would have thought? So lets just get this over with." I guess i was a bit mistake about her hesitance before.

I took her back in hand and pulled her in then kissed her on the lips instantly. It all began from the kitchen to the bedroom. It was a good dream but like all good dreams they come to an end. It was time to wake up.

* * *

 **The Waking world**

* * *

My lungs sucked in rancid air and I was falling down to my face. I blinked and slammed into the pile of bodies below me. I rolled again and again until I got my bearings enough to jump to my feet. I looked around for a moment. I was in a farm house having a good night, day, or something like that but now I was here. Where was here anyway. The memories of Winterhold and my Yarl Uldrich…No these are not my memories. I knew that tether would have side effects to my mind but actual memories that are not even mine.

"What the… damn it!" I heard a crash. I guess the woman's awake. "No, not the sword! Anything but the sword of light!" I rubbed my head. It seems I am not the only one suffering from this trade of memories. The sword of light incident, I remember it faintly but what I do remember it wasn't good. I was stabbed in the stomach with a sword made of pure light from the aedra what's its name. Hates all thing corrupt and evil like a ghost or ghoul and myself a long time ago.

I shook my head one last time before standing up to my feet. One breath at a time I shuffled towards the woman. She was punching something instead of the air I guess and by the pain on my check that something was me. I learned my lesson about getting too close this time. Just need the right spell to get her to calm down. "Idwalin." I pointed my hand toward the woman and watched her struggling cease. When I felt I could get close without losing my head. I drank the potion I made and poured the rest down her throat as well. After a reverse soul trap no matter how successful the trip is it still places a stain on my very being. I dropped my tired body down onto the table and rubbed the rest of the salve on my chest and her own. The curse mark on her chest slowly closed from a gash into smooth skin and I assume the same happened to my own. I was so close to dying in there and even with the recharge I got from her own soul during out conjoining I felt drained still. Drained but not dead so that was a plus.

I reached for my mana pool but found nothing. When I tried a sparks spell I literally only got sparks. I was completely out of mana but maybe I won't need it against the witch. I could hear the barking, the screaming, and the moaning outside from the scuffle and now that the enchantments holding the spirits into this area are gone the Nord will have an easier time up there but regardless of the less pressure he is going against a witch and necromancer strong and knowledgeable enough to bend the dead to her will. That means she's a powerful conjurer and the aedra knows if she has any more black soul gems on her person. I had to get up and the get this woman up to help us.

I clenched my fist and turned around towards the woman. With a quick swipe across the face with my fist her eyes shoot open. "AHHH!" She screamed as she leaned up with her eyes open wide.

"I don't have time to explain it all," I grunted and took another couple of breaths to steady my body. Anya shifted her eyes towards my own panting harder them myself. I climbed off the table and fell to the ground to my sword the must have fell down once I hit the ground before. I picked it and laid it on the table.

"Take this up and follow me." I limped to the apothecary table to my stamina potion and downed it in one gulp to avoid tasting the foul flavored liquid. All the ingredients you need to make a stamina potion works enough to return you energy and revitalize muscles but by the gods does it make the potion taste terrible. Like goats puke smothered in cat hair then burn to a crisp only to be mixed with a dung topping. I gagged when that same taste covered my taste buds and made them scream.

Note to self: find a way to nullify the taste of a stamina potion because nothing in this world can be added to it to make it taste adequate enough for consumption. Blue berries turn it into a laxative and juniper berries turn it into a poison so I got nothing right now. Despite the disgust I felt in my body and the gagging spasms I had arch up my spine I kept the fluid down enough for it to take effect.

"E-Elf?" I coughed one last time before panting like I ran from Cyrodil to Morrowind in a day without a boat somehow. I leaned up and walked normally to the ladder next to the table.

"The witch that almost kill you is up top right now and Ralof if fighting her alone."

"But…" "

Hurry," I growled softly and yet my voice carried a force that got the woman's attention enough to do as I said. She grabbed my sword and turned towards me. She stepped towards me but stopped for a moment and looked back. She grinned then looked back to me. I nodded my approval of her choice and in a quick swipe she yanked the dagger out of the table and placed it in the fold of her storm cloak armor. "Let's kill this goat humper."

I shot up thought the trap down and heard and explosion in front of the house. My axe came to my hand and slung over my shoulder. "Come on the other nord needs help. The woman summoned," I took a peek from the when and leaned back when I saw a fire ball fly past my face. It seems I should have kept my mouth shut because they now I'm here now.

The woman came up behind me and crouched down. "What is it Elf?" I grabbed a rag from my pocket and wiped soot from my face where the fire ball skinned me.

"That was a fire atronach." The woman shook her head then nodded. "Okay they know you're here, you go out the front and draw their attention away while I sneak around the hit them from the back." I nodded my head and took a breath. With as much speed as I could muster I shot out the door to the gate in the dark front yard of the shack. The fire atronach that attacked me before shot towards me skating along the grassy ground leaving a flaming trail in its wake.

"Nord!" I got the attention of the other Atronach by the trees. It saw me and hissed and why shouldn't it. I am sure most daedra in oblivion know who or what I am. I waved for the beings of fire to come at me. They screeched and skated towards me. I took the charge as well but swiveled to the sides dodging fire balls. I noticed something behind them that looked to be a frostbite spell. The witch has to be over there because no other creature the can be normally summoned that uses a spell that small. That much mean that is where the nord took refuge as well from the fire ball.

I looked back to my atronach and took my axe in both hands. They hissed at me when they saw it. With how long they have been here one hit from this might send time back to oblivion where they belong. I rose my hand and felt for my mana that after the last minute came back enough for me to use one spell. A frozen sensation took the palm of my left hand as a small frost shard took hold in my hands. I bite back the pain from the remnants of the curse the studded my mana and made spell casting painful and focused. I didn't have enough to fire the spell in a way of a projectile but a touch is a different story. Touch based spell always used less mana but for now the flame atronach stopped there charge once they saw my spell and maybe that's all I need.

I dropped my hand and rushed forward surprising closest atronach to my left and whirled around. I know that this specific kind of daedra relies on speed and agility that means a thrust or a vertical slash will amount to nothing for it only has to move slightly to the side to escape the attack but with a battle axe all I have to do is a power attack in the form of a whirlwind. I gripped the haft of the axe and shifted around in a devastating and wide attack.

The atronach moved left right and back but my reach was enough for the edge of my axe to touch the spirit of fire. Silver and steel met with the body of fire and in one clean swipe the atronach was cut in half and dead. Its body turned to ashes below me leaving just one more. The other atronach screeched in anger and shot towards me. A torrent of fires shot toward me. Taking a lesson from my earlier confrontation I rose my axe up to my face and blocked most of the flames. The atronach grabbed my axe surprisingly and yanked it back. I stood my ground against its strength. These fire sprites might be famous for speed and agility but their physical strength is still something not to be underestimated. The atronach opened its head to show me a fire like core that spewed flames at me directly. I let go of the axe instantly to avoid the blast and rolled over the grass away from the fire spirit. It threw my axe away and screeched triumphantly. I crawled back as it started its slow prowl towards me.

"Uara oan taka," it whisper in the tongue of oblivion but not just any oblivion. It was the one that belonged to Molag Bol. That wasn't good.

The atronach made a crackling noise that had to be laughter because nothing else made sense. "You tell the lord of Domination that I will not die today," I said back to its death threat. The atronach screeched and barreled towards me then stopped. I smirked at the atronach as a silver sword found its way out of its torso. Eyes of hate looked out to me as it melted into nothing but ashes revealing Anya standing in the spot behind the pile of ashes.

"Need some help elf," she presented me her hand. I took it and climbed up to my feet.

"I was counting on it." Anya snort then faced over to the woods. I heard some in the distance and saw some movement. Anya took a one handed swords man stance with the sword up at shoulder height and her left arm in front of her. If I wasn't mistake it was a dual sword style from the country northwest from here. I took note of that and walked over to my axe as well and picked it up.

"Elf!" Ralof jumped though the bushes and ran towards us. He fell over to his knees sucking in air like crazy. Right behind him something else came out in the form of a wolf. It was the female of the pack and it was the only one. The other two much have been killed while this one acted as guardian for the Nord. The nord panted and look back and faced the direction he came. I took my axe up and waited as something stomped its way towards us.

"What in talos is that?" Anya demanded to know from her fellow nord.

"A-Anya, oh thank Talos you're alive but what are you…" The nord shook his head and quickly took out his sword. "Forget it, its coming!"

"What's coming you fool tell us something?" I narrowed my eyes at the darkness free of all the ghost from before and saw a red outline in the distance. My wolf bitch growled but backed down from the thing coming at us.

"Look," Anya pointed outward toward the house. "That witch," the woman growled as Old Anise walked out from the darkness of the forest towards us with a dagger in hand and a purple orb in her hands.

My eyes widened when I saw it. "She has a leash," I gawked.

"A what!" I pointed to the orb in her hands. "That orb there is used to bind powerful high class dremora to her life force to keep it under her control and in our world as long as she inhabits it."

"High class dremora? Like what?"

" **Like me,** " we heard from the tree line where Ralof came from. It was then I knew we should have left when we had the chance.

"What in Talos is that!?" Anya stepped back from the heavily armored and figure with a large claymore in hand. Eyes as red as the deepest fiery pit in oblivion and towering over the nords with ease and taller than even myself.

"That," I gulped as a tremor spread though my body. "It's a dremora lord."

The dremora lord chuckled at us and took a threatening step forward. **"Today you all die!"**

* * *

 **A/N:** This took months for me to finalize but now I'm moving forward once more. I have so much I can do in this story and so many boundaries I can cross in a story mixing the game world with a realist one. It's quite interesting once you start thinking about it. How to explain how you can carry a set weight no matter the arsenal or crazy assort me of items you can carry. How I factor in the many bandit camps you find next to cities and a quest they can be placed into to sack a town. So much to do I wonder where to hold back. I'll see as I go.


End file.
